A Do-Nothing Day

We had expectations of getting out for a hike yesterday. Our first stop was to be the park visitor center where there is a small store. I have searched and searched and searched the RV and I've been unable to find my sun visor. It's hard for me to believe I didn't pack it, but it's been MIA, and so it doesn't really matter. As a fair-skinned person who burns easily, I didn't really want to be out in the Arizona sunshine without something to shade my face. While we were there, I took this picture of an Organ Pipe cactus. You can see they are similar to the saguaros, but their arms grow from a single spot at the bottom.

Also, I noticed a creosote bush in bloom. Spring is coming, my friends!

There was nothing at the park visitor center...nothing like a visor, anyway...and so we ended up driving into Casa Grande, about 20 miles to the north to find something. I ended up with a swell wide-brimmed straw hat. But as long as we were there, we had lunch, gassed up the truck, and picked up a few things from the grocery store. By the time we got back to the RV it was time for our naps...and we're very serious about our naps.

So when we were thoroughly ashamed of how lazy we'd been, we decided to get out for a walk. Here are some things we saw along the way. For one thing...this cat. His name is Pecos. He was very friendly, unlike Mr. Smitty who is very purrsnickety about who he'll allow to pet him. Pecos had no such reservations.

Walking on, we noticed this cactus reaching its arms to the moon.

Looking right we could see Picacho Peak. If you look closely where I've indicated with a red arrow, you can see saguaro cactus growing on the tippy top of the peak.

There's another smaller peak beside the larger one that makes this Picacho Peak easy to distinguish from the ones all around.

Across the freeway from the state park is Red Rock...a town and a hill.

This next image is a terrible picture, but in "every blooming thing" fashion, I wanted to show you that the desert sunflowers are in bloom. We've seen them all along the freeway. It also demonstrates my assertion that the best way to get the wind to blow is to try to take a picture of a flower.

Now here's something. There were birds flying all around this particular cactus, and we feel fairly certain they are living within the cactus holes somewhere. We couldn't pick out their home, but we wondered how this bird could stand on those thorns without getting badly pricked.

Farther on, our shadow selves did their best impression of a saguaro cactus. They are obviously limited in their talents.

Smitty has been surprisingly reticent to get out and walk here. We thought he would like this place, and our campsite is at the edge of the campground where he has plenty of room to roam without being bothered by woofies, mans, or cars. Still, he's only been out for a few minutes each walk, and then he wants back inside. He does enjoy sitting inside looking out the screen door, however.

We sat outside until the temperatures cooled with the setting sun. Perhaps today we'll get out for a real hike. Temperatures are supposed to be a little cooler, but it should still be a good day for hiking.