The Hole-y Desert

This scene captures the essence of the setting of "Desert Trails"

Since my last post, so much has happened - many adventures, new friends, exciting developments and fun experiences. One development is that we are staying at an RV Park outside of Tucson called Desert Trails. It was kind of a last-minute emergency when we realized that we were arriving in the middle of the famed Gem & Mineral Show, couldn't stay in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and had to scramble for a place to stay on about a day's notice.

We really lucked out to find this gem, not exactly hidden, but certainly off the beaten path. And it lives up to its name, with some trails leading right out of the park towards Tucson Mountain Park, Gilbert Ray campground, and beyond.

Well, we haven't hiked that far on their trails (yet), but I did take my camera on the trail a couple of days ago, and got some photos to share. This afternoon we went out again, about an hour before the sun set. It had been a cloudy day, with scattered showers. At this point in the day, there were still several showers scattered in the desert - we could see them, even though they were dozens of miles away. I didn't get a photo of the rain as the sun shone on one of the showers to west, but I did write this haiku-like poem:

Sheet of white rain
Shimmers
The setting sun

Here are some photos I took a couple of days ago on my walk on the "Desert Trails". The first group of photos follows the theme "Hole-y Desert". The rest are just things I found interesting during my hike.

The cactus wren nest in a cholla cactus

Saguaro cactus with holes made by the gila (pronounced he-la) woodpecker.

Not sure how this hole in the prickly pear cactus got there....

Another hole in a saguaro. Not sure who made this one.

Prickly pear with hole.

Ground-dwelling habitat.

Edible fruits on the barrel cactus.

Cholla cactus as it dies and decays, has a beautiful skeletal framework.

Saguaro hole.

OTHER INTERESTING THINGS ON THE DESERT TRAIL

Too close for comfort?

A saguaro with an extra head?

This saguaro lost its head...

Jumping cholla and cholla skeleton

Saguaro grows under a palo verde nurse tree 

Now you know why they call it a fish hook cactus

Pretty symmetry looking down the top of a saguaro

Did you drop something?

Wavy Barrel Cactus

Barrel cactus uprooted...not completely dead yet, though....

Hedgehog cactus under a nurse shrub

The sign looks pretty old....

Spines and more spines on a prickly pear cactus

What is it?

Pretty red berries on this pencil cactus

The arm on this saguaro has a nice pattern

Rain coming down in the desert

And, finally, the sunset.