Where we took some time to clean, re-organize and take a breather from our travels.

Our friends Scott & Dawna came for a visit from the Mesa area. It was great to see them!

Pictures of the sky at the Campground

This past Wednesday we ventured out to . . .

Saguaro National Monument in Tucson was created in 1933, expanded in 1961, and became Saguaro National Park in 1994. There are two units: East, which includes the Rincon Mountains; and West, which includes part of the Tucson Mountains. We went to the East part of the park.

The National Park is about the saguaro cactus (pronounced “sah-wah-roh”), which only grows in Southern Arizona. The saguaro cactus is the largest cactus in the United States, and will normally reach heights of 40 feet tall. The tallest saguaro cactus ever measured towered over 78 feet into the air.

The cactus grows a column/pole at a very slow rate, with all growth occurring at the tip, or top of the cactus. It can take 10 years for a saguaro cactus to reach 1 inch in height. By 70 years of age, a saguaro cactus can reach 6 and a half feet tall, and will finally start to produce their first flowers. By 95-100 years in age, a saguaro cactus can reach a height of 15-16 feet, and could start to produce its first arm. By 200 years old, the saguaro cactus has reached its full height, reaching upwards of 45 feet tall.

We took hikes thru the park and kept saying boy most these Saguaro are old.

I have to give Paul a lot of credit.

What remains of the Cactus Shack today.

Lime kilns were used to make mortar and white wash from limestone. The kilns were built on the hills inside the park and the limestone was also dug from the hills in the park, it would be layered with wood until the kiln was full. The pile would be lit from the bottom where a vent would allow air to flow up through the stack. The lime would burn until it became a white powder and would then bag it and transport it to wherever it was needed.  Adobe mud walls needed whitewash and dirty rooms needed plaster, just a few things it was used for when mixed with water.

The family’s adobe house, open-air kitchen, ocotillo fence corral, and rope-and-bucket well were tucked into a scenic valley surrounded by towering saguaros. In the 1950’s the park re-acquired the homestead, and today visitors wander down to walk the home’s tile floor and site under the shade tree planted so many years ago.