hikes,  outdoors,  travel

Scottsdale, AZ: Cactus Walk in the Suburbs

July 23, 2021 /

One of the things I loved the most from our visit to Arizona (apart from spending time with my brother and family) was how we were able to take some walks and enjoy the beautiful scenery that is particular to that part of the US. We took a total of 4 walks, each about 2 miles long and this one was introduced by my brother. It was a paved trail that took us from his neighborhood, through a community center area and bordered another couple of neighborhoods.

The key to a walk in Arizona in summer is to choose the right time of the day to go: right around 5 AM was perfect: it hasn’t gotten too hot yet and you get to enjoy the sunrise too! Of course, I admired all of the cacti as we walked and paused to take pictures.

The photographer being photographed! One of the things I regretted on this trip is not packing a few extra things, among them a set of workout shorts/tank and tennis shoes. I ended up wearing my pjs on these early walks but then had to do some laundry and was very thankful for the use of the washer and dryer in the condo. With the heat, I found I needed to change clothes a couple times a day especially that we were involved in a variety of activities.

Of course, we saw saguaro cacti everywhere we turned. They are all so different with their “branches” going in different directions and holes pecked by birds. Some of them were really tall and majestic.

Can you spot the quail? I spend the whole weekend trying to take a good picture but these little birds are fast and their color is perfect for blending in with their surroundings.

We passed only a couple of the pear cactus and they always remind me of the nopales cacti we ate in Mexico.

The landscape is so different than what we are used to and even the boys were in awe of the different types of cacti. This is the teddy bear cholla! I have a close up picture of a younger one in a coming post when we hiked in a natural preserve. I am just glad that the builders of these neighborhoods left some of the natural plants growing. You can tell by the size of some of cacti that some are really old.

We passed a handful of people on their morning walks and got to see lots of little rabbits. The trail was really well taken care of.

The sunrise was beautiful coming over the hills. I truly think we need to plan a week long visit in the fall or spring at some point in the next couple of years.

I will leave you with this last picture for today, with the bird at the top of the saguaro cactus among the flowers. It would be quite grand to see all of those blooms at the top fully opened!

A bientôt!

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