PEARLS OF WISDOM

"WHOEVER SAID MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS HAS NEVER OWNED A HORSE."

Thursday, March 18, 2010

FINALLY SOME FLOWERS IN THE DESERT

The Air Force came through again like they always do.  We have been looking for flowers since we got down here.   The Barry Goldwater Air Force Range was where we found them.  We were out on it a couple of years ago and it is unique in the fact that not a lot of people go out there.  You have to watch a video on range safety and learn where you can't go.  Also have to call entering and exiting through the locked gates.  But they do have the flowers this year.  Other places are just starting to get them.  It has been protected since at least WWII.  You get to see old dead trees that have not been cut for wood years ago.  And when the old saguaros die, they just fall over and stay there.  Good ones in the BLM used to end up as yard ornaments in town.  And the biggest and tallest saguaros I have seen so far are out there.  So anyway, Connie and I were on our way out to one gate when we stopped at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge HQ and the ranger told us that she had heard there were a lot of poppies out near Hat Mountain on the range.  So we changed where we were headed and really got a great surprise.

Click to enlarge any of the photos.  This plague is actually at Gila Bend Air Force station which controls the range.

These are Mexican Poppies and they were all over the place.  

Nice driving down the road.





Connie saw this old dead saguaro and wanted in her yard!




There are a lot of saguaros down all over this area as it was wet and they had some really terrific winds this winter.  Even blew the roof off of the chow hall at Gila Bend AF Station.

Here are some Globe Mellow and Brittle Bush.












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