Leaving the Phoenix metroplex, we climbed gently and found ourselves surrounded by a forest of Saguaros.
Some interesting facts about Saguaros:
- They are the largest cactus in the US.
- A 10-year old plant might be only 10” high.
- Their branches normally begin to appear when a saguaro reaches 50 to 70 years of age.
- They can grow to 40’-60’.
- Their roots are only 4-6 inches deep and radiate out as far from the plant as it is tall.
- There is one deep root, or tap root that extends down into the ground more than 2’.
- When rain is plentiful, they can weigh from 3,200-4,800 lbs.
- They can live to 150-200 years.
- Saguaros are limited by elevation.
- They are generally found growing from sea level to approximately 4,000 feet in elevation.
- Saguaros growing higher than 4,000 feet are usually found on south facing slopes where freezing temperatures are less likely to occur or are shorter in duration.
As our altitude increased to between 3,500‘ and 4,000’ the Saguaros disappeared and gave way to
At one point, we had the unusual situation of the opposing traffic lanes being to our right rather than to our left. By the time we reached Heber, we were just shy of 6,000’ on a high plateau with few trees
until we neared Holbrook, where several rock cones stood out from the plain.
Holbrook,
where we were picking up I-40, is a real tourist trap,
although there are some interesting building murals.
Heading east on I-40, we were again driving through some barren country
where an unfortunate RVer had shredded one of his tires.
Nearby, we caught some glimpses of the Painted Desert (which we’d visited on a prior trip) in the distance.
Along the way, we passed a long-distance biker,
sadly what is an all too familiar sight of decaying homes on Indian reservations,
and a real life cowboy and his horse!
As we approached the New Mexico state line, there were some colorful cliff and rock formations.
Almost as soon as we entered New Mexico, we were buffeted by some gusting winds causing flags to stand straight out and
and us to slow 30 miles per hour. Fortunately, we had only 13 more miles before exiting the exposed highway.