The Cactus Trip Diaries

Despite our late night, we were up at a reasonable time and on the road to Tucson a 362 mile drive. We made just two plant stops: S1293, near Cottonwood Springs, AZ, where we saw Ferocactus cylindraceus, many in bud, a couple in flower, Fouquieria splendens, Opuntia basilaris, including a few in flower, while most were bursting with buds, and Cylindropuntia ramosissima.

The next stop was another turning off I-10, signposted for Dome Rock, a popular location for RVs. The track took us between two rocky outcrops, the one to the north of darker probably volcanic origin had Carnegiea gigantea and Cylindropuntia bigelovii and C. echinocarpa or is it C. fulgida? or both? and Fouquieria splendens. Across the track, the rock seemed to be a bedded limestone, overlaying with quartz. There were no Carnegiea to be seen here. Instead, we found Mammillaria sp (M. grahamii or M. microcarpa?), Echinocereus engelmannii and Opuntia basilaris. This hillside also had Fouquieria splendens, and a few of the Cylindropuntia.

We had an excellent steak dinner, in the same restaurant where Alain & I ate in 2008. As Alain said: it was as though we had never been away.

Tomorrow we head for Mexico.