What a day! We set out to look for cactus blooms early because it was supposed to get pretty warm by afternoon. When it started getting too warm to walk in the sun, we decided to do a lake cruise. It was cool under the shade canopy of the boat and very breezy!
Marley just loves going for a ride through the park!
We ended up at Usery Park and walked the Levee Trail. This is the same trail we walked when we did the Full Moon walk.
Above is a video I made of our walk through the desert. I am NOT a videographer nor am I an editor. I'm just learning to use the GoPro camera and the free software I found online. It's only about 6 minutes. Take a look!
Most saguaro cactus are 30 to 40 feet tall but can grow to 50 feet plus. They can live to 200 years old. The arms indicate the age of the cactus. They are 60-70 years old before growing arms.
There are 4 lakes along the Salt River; Saguaro Lake, Canyon Lake, Apache lake, Roosevelt Lake
Al has been wanting to go on this cruise and today was the perfect day for it. It was only $27 per person. The captain narrated and talked about the area on the 80 minute cruise.
The average depth of the lake is 65 feet but can be as deep as 110-115 feet. The temperature of the water is an average of 85 degrees in summer and 52 degrees in winter.
The cliffs surrounding Saguaro Lake are made up of lava, ash, granite and tuff (tuff is a light, porous rock formed by consolidation of volcanic ash) and volcanic upheavals.
Desert big horn sheep live around the lake as well as bob cats, rattle snakes, coyote, etc. The green lichen on the cliff sides is a combination of algae and fungi. This combination turns to an acid which in turn brakes down and corrodes the granite, turning into soil which allows a variety of plant life among the cliffs.
Saguaro Lake is inside the 100,000 square mile Sonoran Desert and has an average of 12.5 inches of rain per year in this subdivision of the desert.
This formation is called elephant rock.
Four Peaks stands at an elevation of 7700 feet. Amethyst is mined here.
The cactus in the center is called a Crested Cactus and is the result of a genetic defect in the tissue of the buds. The bud tissue of a normal saguaro cactus causes the classic vertical, columnar shapes that we all know. Occasionally the cactus branches sideways, but most of its growth continues to reach for the sky. Crested cactus are fairly rare. For every 200,000 normal cacti, there is only one abnormal crest.
The black streaks are the result of rain water that leaches mineral such as manganese and iron oxide. The black streaks are called Desert Varnish.
This little pointed spire is called Ship Rock and is a volcano pore.
A trivia tidbit...This area was called New Spain at one time which was Spain's attempt to colonize. This would explain the Spanish influence throughout the South West.
Yes, this is what the dash in Max read when we were on our way home. But it's a dry heat.
7 comments:
Your editing skills are really good!
Thanks Cashton! I'm finally taking the time to learn how to use all the stuff I bought! The GoPro has so many settings! We'll take some awesome video when you visit!
You're lucky you took the 80 minute tour, rather than the 3 hour tour!
Yes,, 80 minutes was enough. We enjoyed the tour! They had several choices and even a dinner cruise. We've done so many things here! Miss you guys so much! Love you!
Loved the cave picture Al. A little more than 50 days!
Thanks! We're looking forward to it 😀 😊
HAHA, Jessica, I get the Gilligan's Island reference. :)
I would have to agree with Cashton, Colleen did a great job with the GoPro and editing. I look forward to seeing more videos.
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