Seeing that I'm still operating on east coast time, I got up early and decided to hike up the hill behind the B & B before breakfast.
That area behind the B & B is not just any nameless desert scenery. It's actually called the Caroline Bartol Preserve on Saguaro Hill and it's also the site of the Goldwater Memorial Garden, named for Senator Barry Goldwater.
I didn't see any obvious trails while I was going up the hill. But at least the vegetation wasn't closely packed together that I would have to bush-whack through thickets of thorny cacti and be caught unawares by hidden rattlesnakes.
It was 7 o'clock in the morning, and already the day was showing signs of getting hot. But I figured that a short hike up the hill behind the B & B wouldn't be such a big deal.
Anyhow, that hike was to be the first among several lessons in the rigors of desert hiking.
A little hill like that would have not given me much problem in the leafy forests of New England, not even for somebody who's no longer in the shape she used to be.
But here it's different. It's exposed. And it's hot.
So every several feet I found myself struggling to catch my breath ~ really catch my breath.
However I wasn't going to let a little hill like that get the better of me, even if it was hot and without a lick of shade.
While hiking up that hill, and other hills to follow, I discovered that here, in Arizona, when you think you've gotten to the top of the hill, there is a whole more hill left to go.
"Great," she says with sarcasm.
Still the view from the top was spectacular and well worth the effort.
You could see all this land spread out before the mountains. And you could see why this area is called the Desert Foothills.
All around you could see saguaro cacti. But then, what do you expect from a place called Saguaro Hill?
This is the spot of the Goldwater Memorial Garden. That stone wall makes a great place to catch your breath. And that's a good thing because there's still a lot more hill left to go.
Saguaros aren't the only cacti to occupy Saguaro Hill.
You certainly would not want to back up into this baby!
And here's another example why this place is called Saguaro Hill. Notice that pale green saguaro near the middle. Its color was really out of place with all the other saguaros.
Here's a dead saguaro. Dead saguaros are collected and used to make interesting sculptures as well as floor and table lamps. The center is hollow, and there's enough spacing in between the ribs for the light to shine through.
Here's another dead saguaro with its innards somewhat intact.
Gradually, I'm making my descent. There's the B & B down below.
As I get closer down, I get a better look at that odd-colored saguaro. It looks Gumby green to me. I haven't seen other saguaros that pale green color. (That's the Desert Foothills Library, that's under construction, behind ol' Gumby.)
This gives you an idea of how tall these suckers get. A saguaro cactus can easily get 30 to 40 feet tall. That's about the size of your average backyard maple.
And did you know that one foot of saguaro weighs 100 pounds? And that's not counting the weight of the arms. So when one of those beasts falls, get out of the way FAST!
Oh good! Finally I'm back down to the B & B. (That little tiny blob on the right edge is one of the hummingbird feeders at the Spur Cross.)
Boy! Was I ever glad to be done with that hike.
It's not that I didn't enjoy seeing all that beauty. It's that the hike took a lot out of me. I was winded, hot, and thirsty. My hands were experiencing this weird vibration from God knows what.
Even for such a short hike behind the B & B, I should have worn a hat and taken some water with me. I cannot begin to stress enough how important it is to have water with you constantly when you're outdoors in this kind of environment.
I still had about 15 to 20 minutes left before breakfast ~ enough time for me to suck down some water and suck up the AC in my room.
After all, it was still early in the morning, and I had more adventures awaiting me that day.
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