A Festive Anniversary Week in the Sonoran Desert. Part 1: la Casita

December 11-17, 2022

Wow! 50! Can’t believe we’ve been together for so many years. Can’t believe it seems like yesterday. Countless adventures, miles, laughs, memories. How the good times fly! 50 years on December 12th, and I wasn’t about to let the winter doldrums keep us hunkered down at home. Surely a road trip was in store to properly round out our year of desert discoveries!  I booked us a week at a little one room home about 25 miles north of Tucson, AZ ….. in the land of the mighty saguaro cactus ….. where Roy and I, and of course Luna, could soak in some southwest winter sun and take our time exploring this new-to-us area of the Sonoran Desert. 

Come along with us for 7 days of discoveries in the Sonoran Desert!

We arrived early afternoon on the 11th and found our charming la Casita smack dab in the middle of a saguaro forest!  After the 500 mile drive from home, we were ready to stretch our legs, and Luna was anxious for a run. Settling into our “little home” would have to wait. Bordered on 2 sides by Arizona state lands, la Casita was perfectly located for daily hikes amongst all things poky, spiny, prickly, thorny, barbed and bristly. Our hikes turned into slow and careful walks. Luna was not impressed! 

It was during our rambling across acres of lands behind la Casita where we began our crash course in Sonoran flora and fauna, that would continue throughout the week. 

We learned that walking along dry washes lined with long-spine palo verde and mesquite resulted in snagged and sometimes torn shirts and pants.  But then escaping upslope was like playing pinball as we zigzagged too close to several species of abundantly spiny cholla and shoulder tall fishhook barrel cacti. It was all worth it to be surrounded by the 20-30 foot tall iconic symbol of the American Southwest .. the Saguaro.  

To our grand delight, we discovered a rare crested or “cristate” saguaro on these state lands. Crested saguaros only form in about 1 in 10,000 (although some sources state the number is 1 in 200,000).  Regardless, they are still very rare.  Scientists believe that due to a genetic mutation, the usually columnar/vertical growth of the main stem begins to branch and branch and branch, and branch again and again until it can branch no more, all the while forming a type of super compacted laterally spreading crest or crown at the very top.  The one we found behind la Casita had a camel face! Perfect for the desert, huh? From the time we spotted the Camel (at a distance of 200 yards, as the crow flies) to when we arrived at its base (we had to see this guy up close and personal), a full hour had passed as we slowly and safely dodged as many threatening cactus spines as possible. Almost made it unscathed. 

The saguaro provides food for many desert critters, like bats and mice, and nesting holes for owls and woodpeckers, like flickers and the Gila woodpecker.  Although it’s not breeding/nesting season during December, the very noisy/squeaky toy sounding Gila woodpecker were plentiful and easy to spot as they crept up and down the spine loaded stems of the saguaro.

We enjoyed many fun hours exploring these state lands, both before and after our long days of visiting a number of other places in and around Tucson. 

Stay tuned for Part 2: Saguaro National Park West – Tucson Mountain District