Red Hills Saguaro National Monument
November 4, 2006
Sipping coffee we walked the wash trail near where we
parked. We came to a cave up on the rocks but were not dressed for the climb. At the Red Hills Saguaro National Monument visitor center we watched a short video that was about the great circle of life from the viewpoint of the Tohono O’Odham Indians. Several Indians were set up to show their crafts: basket weaving with horsehair and grasses, silver work, beadwork and weaving. The beader told us of a Brazilian seed that washes up on Atlantic coasts that are used by his people to ward off evil. He incorporates the seeds Anglos call hamburger seeds because of the resemblance in his beadwork. We walked around a bit and learned about the saguaro cactus roots from one of the rangers. She told us that the roots are in the diameter of the length of the cactus is tall and that they are shallow, about 4 inches below the surface in order to get as much of the rain that may fall as possible. She told us how the Indians still come to harvest the fruit of the saguaro cactus; it is used in their religious ceremonies and in jams and jellies. Then we took the scenic drive, six miles, looping past the dense saguaro forest. We walked up to the o overlook and to the petroglyphs. The petroglyphs had two types, stick figures and filled in figures. The picnic are outside the petroglyphs were designed by the CCC. The workmanship is beautiful. We saw a saguaro cactus blooming! They usually bloom in April and May so we must have found a really unique cactus that has his months mixed up!
It was switchbacks that brought us up Kitts Peak in the midst of the Quinlan Mountains of the Sonoran Desert on the O’odham Indian Reservation. At the top are the world’s largest collection of research telescopes, twenty-three telescopes representing dozens of astronomical research institutions. Justin, Hawaii University is one of them! We took the walking tour and saw the Mayall 4mm Telescope, the McMath –Pierce Solar Telescope Facility 2mm and the 2.1m Telescope. We signed up for tomorrow nights observing program. Rather than go all the way back down the mountain we decided to see if we could find a spot. We found a wide spot in the road and made some dinner, salmon and avocado, then watched a few movies. Kathy went to bed about 11pm after the programmers had come down. Will had just come to bed when the horn sound woke us. The security guard was patrolling. Will went out and talked with him; he said he turned around at mile9 so if we went below that we would be alright. Will found us a nice spot and we pulled over for the night.
Sipping coffee we walked the wash trail near where we
parked. We came to a cave up on the rocks but were not dressed for the climb. At the Red Hills Saguaro National Monument visitor center we watched a short video that was about the great circle of life from the viewpoint of the Tohono O’Odham Indians. Several Indians were set up to show their crafts: basket weaving with horsehair and grasses, silver work, beadwork and weaving. The beader told us of a Brazilian seed that washes up on Atlantic coasts that are used by his people to ward off evil. He incorporates the seeds Anglos call hamburger seeds because of the resemblance in his beadwork. We walked around a bit and learned about the saguaro cactus roots from one of the rangers. She told us that the roots are in the diameter of the length of the cactus is tall and that they are shallow, about 4 inches below the surface in order to get as much of the rain that may fall as possible. She told us how the Indians still come to harvest the fruit of the saguaro cactus; it is used in their religious ceremonies and in jams and jellies. Then we took the scenic drive, six miles, looping past the dense saguaro forest. We walked up to the o overlook and to the petroglyphs. The petroglyphs had two types, stick figures and filled in figures. The picnic are outside the petroglyphs were designed by the CCC. The workmanship is beautiful. We saw a saguaro cactus blooming! They usually bloom in April and May so we must have found a really unique cactus that has his months mixed up!It was switchbacks that brought us up Kitts Peak in the midst of the Quinlan Mountains of the Sonoran Desert on the O’odham Indian Reservation. At the top are the world’s largest collection of research telescopes, twenty-three telescopes representing dozens of astronomical research institutions. Justin, Hawaii University is one of them! We took the walking tour and saw the Mayall 4mm Telescope, the McMath –Pierce Solar Telescope Facility 2mm and the 2.1m Telescope. We signed up for tomorrow nights observing program. Rather than go all the way back down the mountain we decided to see if we could find a spot. We found a wide spot in the road and made some dinner, salmon and avocado, then watched a few movies. Kathy went to bed about 11pm after the programmers had come down. Will had just come to bed when the horn sound woke us. The security guard was patrolling. Will went out and talked with him; he said he turned around at mile9 so if we went below that we would be alright. Will found us a nice spot and we pulled over for the night.
Comments