The Saguaro is the king cactus tree, and I'd wanted to see one for as long as I remember, probably since the first time I saw one in a Snoopy cartoon. The Saguaro is emblembatic of the West, with its image used on kitchen decorations everywhere. Yet, I'd never seen one in the wild.I was already in Southern California. It only took a detour of a couple of hundred miles through Arizona to find Saguaros popping up on the side of the road. Farther south, landscapes completely full of cactus trees emerged, and finally, I found Saguaros that I could get right up to.
These monsters are amazing. It's also quite fun to say "Sa-WAH-ro" over and over again in a gravelly voice. Try it. It even gets the attention of lazy cats.
Saguaro National Park near Tuscon contains not only hundreds of these great Saguaros, but also hordes of other cacti in various stages of tree-ness. It's a cactus-lovers paradise.
I've always been a fan of cacti, partially because they are the only plants I can reliably grow, but also because of their odd ways of growing new bulges or arms on a seemingly random basis. They can produce amazing flowers and fruits and quite a variety of spines with hooks, barbs or piercingly sharp points. I don't even get mad if I have to grab some tweezers after my cacti dealings. After all, it was my own fault for not keeping my hands to myself.
Other very cool cactus trees are the Teddy Bear Chollas, whose acquaintance I met (they are living creatures after all) in Joshua Tree National Park in California. They look like they could even be cuddly, so the government helpfully installed lots of signs suggesting that touching was probably not the best idea. I like to hug trees, but even I'm not about to hug a cactus tree. Cacti seem to prefer that people respect their personal space bubbles.
My favorite trees are still evergreens. I can never get enough of their smell, and their needles make a splendid trail carpet for hikes. I love the giant Douglas firs of Oregon and the red pines of drier climates. I admire the larch pine's funky needles and the massive size of the redwoods. Firs, pines and spruces are the trees I want to live with.But for vacation, I'll take cactus trees!
