Yesterday Budd and I went out to drive a 21-mile loop in the park that took us up from creosote flats through the volcanic-origin mountains (not very high ones--Utahns would call them hills) and back around. On the way we saw a couple of arches from the road. Didn't get out and do any hiking to speak of this time. We managed to leave home right around noon, so the sun was strong and we're still not acclimated to it. Sunburn isn't on my list of favorite things to do. The air was cool enough for comfort, but we decided discretion was the better part of valor. At some point, I'd like to find myself out there at a time of day when walking is OK, though.
Words can't describe the beauty of this place, and I'm afraid our pictures don't do it justice, either. For people who are used to a desert with sand, rocks, and sagebrush, this is a lush garden. Saguaro, organ pipe, cholla and ocotillo are so numerous that they are often growing close enough to intertwine. The ocotillo are in bloom, with flowers that look like little red flags waving at the top of each arm. Brittlebrush and some other plant with little yellow flowers carpet the ground beneath the cacti, and everywhere there are palo verde, mesquite and creosote bush sheltering baby saguaro and organ pipe. Here we also found an abundance of another type of cactus that we haven't identified yet, also blooming, with bronze and yellow flowers. Budd found one with both colors on the same plant, so he got the honor of photographing that one. On the western half of the loop we discovered that the cholla were blooming, too. I'll pick out a few of the best photos for Facebook, but again, none of them do justice to what the eye can see.
We figure it's about two weeks before the prickly pear and saguaro burst into full bloom. Guess we'll head around the loop later in the afternoon after work one day to try to capture that.
Other than drinking in this amazing new scenery experience, nothing much is going on. I'm just marking time 'til Monday, really. I did walk to the library last Thursday afternoon for 'Stitch'n'Chat' with two new friends who also like handcrafts. MaryAnne was weaving on a portable loom the first time we met, but this week she brought her cross-stitch and a crochet project. Lupe has brought red-work embroidery in the form of a quilt top both times. I'm still working on my Yei rug cross-stitch, but I've finally sent for a set of different sizes of scroll bars, so I can work on more than one project at a time.
Walking on Thursday brought sort of a funny incident. Not that it would be at all unusual for April anywhere else...but it had been cool and cloudy all day. I was smart enough to set out in jeans and a long-sleeved blouse, but forgot my cell phone. So, at 7 p.m. when we ended our 'meeting', I walked out of the library door to the sound of heavy rain--I thought. But I couldn't see any raindrops hitting the ground, and realized what I was hearing was the wind in the desert palms that surround the square. Reassured, I set out to walk the five blocks home, even though the wind was pretty strong and getting cooler by the second. About half-way there, I noticed a sprinkle here and a sprinkle there, and still wasn't very alarmed. After all, it's Ajo, right? By the time my friends spotted me--hunched in the 'downpour' and walking as fast as I could--and came to rescue me, I was pretty damp and chilled, though only two blocks from home. It continued to rain all night and we woke up to puddles, which around here don't last very long. Two decent rains this late in the season is a nine-day wonder, and the topic of everyone's conversation. It certainly has cooled us off nicely, for a week of real spring.
The only other major topic that I've heard around town is this new immigration bill that Arizona just passed. I haven't read the whole thing, even in summary, but from what I have seen, I think they are in for a fight. Unfortunately, I can see both sides. The numbers of illegal aliens pouring through the border is staggering. The agencies involved in stopping them estimate that they catch between 45 and 55%. It's well known here in town that a number of Hispanic kids 'living with relatives' and going to school here are only here during the week--they go home to Mexico and their parents on the weekends. This in a state with 150,000 kids for whom they don't have the budget to hire teachers. On the other hand, the measures in this bill will undoubtedly cause citizens of Hispanic origin to be at risk of targeting for law enforcement hassles. They are up in arms, and I can't say I blame them. You would think that the lessons from the WWII Japanese internment would caution lawmakers against this sort of draconian measures. I don't have a better answer, though, and I'm a guest here, so I'll just watch and see what happens.
Oh, trying to think if I've missed anything from this week, I remembered that ORPI has received an award for excellence in preserving wilderness in the face of enormous pressure. This is one of the few Biosphere Preserve parks that is situated in an area where access must be provided to law enforcement personnel due to border issues. The park cooperates fully with Border Patrol and other law enforcement, which is sometimes in direct opposition to the park's mission, but apparently they balance it well. All personnel from the park were treated to an awards ceremony and light lunch last week. By the way, a Biosphere Preserve area is a United Nations designation. There are hundreds all over the world, each run by the host country's own government, but loosely organized as samples of the unique ecological areas around the world. There are 40+ in the US, all under the auspices of the National Park Service. Mexico hosts 16.
Saving the best for last, our Jazz easily won Game 3 without Kirilinko or Okur, for a 2-1 advantage in the playoffs, with one to go at home today before heading back to Denver. It was soooooo good to hear national announcers saying, "Denver just didn't have any answer for Paul Milsap." We usually hear that we don't have any answer for one of the star opposing players. Milsap plays off the bench, making it even sweeter. Go Jazz!
No comments:
Post a Comment