My early 2006 trip to the desert was great. This year Tom Slater and John Gatt joined me for a long weekend of hiking in one of my favorite cities, Tucson. Our first morning in Tucson was spent in the Eastern section of Saguaro National Park. We had planned a backpacking trip in the Rincon mountains, however, we decided that we could see more desert by dayhiking. After securing a campsite in Catalina State Park, we drove over to Sabino Canyon for an afternoon hike in the desert. Our lunch was notable - the largest single slice of pizza I'd ever seen. At Sabino Canyon, we bought tickets to the tram ride upcanyon. This picture is of a Candy Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii) taken on the parks grounds. The yellow fruit at the top of the cactus are full of seed.

March 2006