Arizona 2005

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Our home in Arizona		Already checked out where the gliders are
We venture forth!	I'm pooped
	Saguaro Cactus	Dead Saguaro Cactus (note)
Saguaro Cactus	Goldfield-Ghost town
Old Linotype Machine	Superstition Mountain
	Canyon Lake	Tortilla Flat - lunch in the saddle
John Long - Entertainer
	Maricopa dancers
	Visiting and hiking in Santa Fe	Juniper and Pinyon trees behind us
Almost missed the fall colors
		Thanksgiving Day
		Tuba Christmas, Tempe, AZ
		New camera - night setting?
Kids who don't see snow often		Light streams are coming from lighted horns - need a tripod
Off to hike again - camera was sitting crooked		The girls - we weren't tired yet
On the trail		Cactus hugging
Flower buds hanging	Beginning of a new arm	The Peak (Note)
Canyon Lake from the Dolly Paddlewheeler
	Mormon Flat Dam on Canyon Lake	Petrified Logs
	Big Horn Sheep
	Black marks are minerals left behind by waterfalls	When they have rain
Our lunch in the saloon at Tortilla Flat		Casa Grande(GreatHouse)
Astrological Holes
Sports Arena	Christmas Day
Ryan and Fred chowing down	No one is a stranger
Agave/Century plant at the Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum		Only blooms every 100 years
	Female cardinal
	Paloverde - Arizona State Tree	Roadrunner
Western Taniger		Silver torch cactus
		Cactus Wren - Arizona State Bird
	Cholla
St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery, Florence, AZ
	LaBarge Canyon
		Weaver's Needle
Lunch in the saddle		Sabino Canyon, Tucson
	Tiny Gecko
	Holding up the rock	Marilyn in the easy chair
Arizona sunsets
Organ Stop Pizza	World's largest Wurlitzer pipe organ	276 keys, 975 control functions
Marionettes	5,000 pipes	Following pictures are numerous percussions and traps all controlled by the keyboard
	Cessna 180	1930 Sterman
Cessna 195	Cessna 310	Ercoupe
Gobe Swift	Gyro Copter	Hummingbird
J-3 Cub	Navy Fighter	Light Sport Aircraft
Stermans	Tailhook	Twin Beech
Warbird		Aloe Striata
Amole	Boojum
Desert Cassia	Desert Oasis	Golden Barrel Cactus
Lake for watering plants	Picketpost Mountain	World's Smallest Museum Superior, AZ
Agave plant bloom	Grew 15 ft. in 5 weeks	With yellow flowers
	Queen Betty
		Brenda and John in their leprechaun
		Arizona Sycamore Tree
Picturesque Sedona Countryside
Our antique train ride
One of two resident bald eagles in canyon	End of the line
Stop in Santa Fe for visit with sister Linda	Oven for baking bread	Cavates dug into cliff face
Plaza of Tyuonyi
Smoking ceiling of cavates hardens volcanic tuff
Petroglyphs
More cavates

Picacho Peak has been used for over 150 years as a landmark for early explorers and travelers. It rises 3,374 feet above the flat desert and can be seen for miles and miles. The peak is actually the left overs of a vast lava flow that occurred about 22 million years ago, about the same time as the formation of the structures in Bryce Canyon; it must have been a real violent time in our Earth's history with all the volcanos erupting.
The Spanish came by Picacho Peak in the late 1700's as they sought their control of California and more especially the San Fransico Area; it was already being visited by the Russians from the north. There are missions throughout California created during these times. The Spanish were also spreading their religion, but their main concern was control of the land. The route that came by Pichaco Peak was used by most travelers during the gold rush and became the route of the Butterfield Stage; it is now the route of the Transcontinental Railroad.
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Saguaro Cactus
As you look at this view of a "dead Saguaro Cactus", notice the tubular structure of the cactus. Compare that to the ribbed sides of the cactus in the other two photos. The ribs of the green cactus are made up of the multiple tubes that you see exposed in the dead cactus. These tubes are the main structural member of the plant; they are like re-bars in concrete that keep the cactus from bending. You can see a little of the 'center pulp' that makes up the succulent body of the cactus where the moisture is contained. The center of the Saguaro can contain enough water for the cactus to survive a 7 year drought. The Saguaro Cactus is seen in parts of Arizona and extending down into the Sonoran Desert of Mexico. The cactus can withstand some frost during the winter, but needs a good source of water that comes during the Spring and Fall rains in this area. If you go farther north, the cactus does not survive because of the cold winters and if you go farther southeast in to New Mexico, it is not as prevalent because of the lack of water.

The cactus you see in these pictures are probably close to 100 years old, they normaly are 65-75 years old before they start growing their first arm. When the seed first start growing, it takes 10 years for them to grow about 2 inches.

For an excellent web site on the Saguaro Cactus visit - http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/desbiome/saguaro.htm
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Casa Grande (Great House)
Unknown Indians lived in this area from about 900 AD until 1400 AD. They farmed the land with water from a series of canals that they built that brought water down from the Gila River. The Pima Indians that live in this area today call the unknown Indians Hohokam, which means 'all gone' or 'all used up'. The 'great house' is the largest surviving structure in a settlement that covered many acres and had many smaller houses. The 'great house' was four stories high and was built of mud with ceilings made of a series of crossing logs and saguaro ribs and then a final layer of mud. The base of the walls is 4 feet thick. The hohokam were intelligent people and knew how to watch the sun to tell when the season were beginning to change. Each wall of the 'great house' are aligned with the points of the compass. On the north wall of the 'great house' there are holes that aligned with where the setting sun could be seen at the time of the summer and winter soltice. These dates helped them know when to plant and have other religous ceremonies.

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