Today we went down to the Tamarisk Grove Campground (which is closed until Nov. 1 - they are adding cabins and re-paving the roads) and attempted 3 hikes in the vicinity. The first one was the Yaqui Well Trail, which was washed out at first (3 severe storms over the summer damaged trails all over this area, according to the Park Ranger), but we were able to pick up the trail and head for the Well Spring. Unfortunately, there was no water in the spring, but we saw many varieties of cacti - they're fascinating (and they also hurt when the spines get in your shoes or scrape across your arm or legs!) Then we tried the Cactus Loop Trail, but it was so washed away that we lost the trail after a bit and had to turn back. The last trail of the day was the William Kenyon Loop Trail at the Yaqui Pass summit, where we saw many different cacti (especially the barrel cactus, which is round to barrel-shaped and has a pinkish tinge to its spines), beautiful desert vistas, a blooming Agave plant (they only bloom in their 75th year, and a huge grasshopper was also checking out the blossoms!), and a simple-looking shrub that turned out to be a fascinating stopping place for bees, butterflies, and caterpillars!
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| Barrel cacti, Ocatillo, and other cacti |
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| Barrel cactus |
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| More Barrel cactus |
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| View of mountains and arroyos |
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| Agave Plant |
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| Agave Plant with bloom and Grasshopper |
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| Grasshopper on Agave Plant Bloom |
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| This shrub was teeming with life: butterflies, bees, caterpillars, insects |
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