Hiking Breaks

On Tuesdays, we take a break from our usual routine and go hiking with the group at Park Place RV Park where we were parked for a month. They're a nice group of people although the hikes are more like walks, but it's some exercise and gets us out in the fresh air.

There were 29 healthy hikers last week when we started up the first hill. (At the end of the day, there were 27 healthy hikers and two who were involved in a tumble down the hill.)


This hike was over rolling hills with nice views of the surrounding hills and the confluence of the Verdi and Salt rivers below.


Ron was interested in the bones of this deceased saguaro. He wondered if it was a 'crested' one because of the odd configuration at the top right. A crested saguaro has a fan-shaped section which is fairly unusual.

Diana has a good picture of a crested saguaro here.

It still strikes me as ironic that the cactus with all those wicked looking spines has such beautiful flowers. We were lucky to see several different species in flower. I believe this is a hedgehog cactus.


The next two are a variety of cholla cactus.


Isn't this one especially gorgeous?


Yesterday we hiked (or walked) down along the river. When I saw all these hikers relaxing during the lunch break, I had an overwhelming urge to shout, "Snake!" and see what happened. Sometimes I wonder about myself.


No, I didn't see these in the desert. They seem to be native to Trader Joes.