Saguaros stand tall in the Sonoran Desert

Yesterday morning we walked back into Saguaro National Park until we came to a grove of  mostly old saguaros. Saguaros have long arms supporting arms supporting arms supporting arms, though it takes as long as 60-75 years for them to develop their first one. They become homes for gila woodpeckers, purple martins, house finches, and gilded flickers. Scar tissue nests form in the saguaro accordian-like skin. We saw just a few of the wonderful blossoms, the Arizona state flower.

This is the cactus we drew as a kid, though it only exists in a relatively small area (and not at all in Texas). Note the unusual one with the crossbars, below.

Two shots of Hat Mountain...(and one of tequila)

Dialogue in the Desert: We started the day at 5am with a hike in the Saguaro National Park. The desert is in bloom with an unusual number of wildflowers just now.

Here are two views of Hat Mountain – one with the sun coming up, and the other a couple of hours later. We also visited a grove of saguaros. More on that tomorrow.

Oh – and what happened yesterday, on a "learning from horse sense theme" here at White Stallion Ranch. I had a chance to practice "moving the feet" of a palomino named Peaches, eventually convincing her to follow me. That was a fascinating experience.

Later, our team wrangled three longhorn cattle into their pen, in 38 seconds flat. Pretty good for people who hadn't been on horses for years.

Just had a hayride to a cook-out, in the wind, with shots of tequila and grapefruit juice. All part of a necessary acclimation to the dude ranch life.