I headed out from the campsite this morning to a place marked on Google Maps that indicated there were petroglyphs. My campsite neighbor, Mike, with a cool dog, Tiber, had visited them a few days previously and said it was pretty easy to find the petroglyphs.
I walked to the trailhead from the campsite was about a mile and a third. It’s only a few hundred feet to the first petroglyph. Here’s a little video I shot as I tromped around the area looking for petroglyphs.
The view from where I scrambled up to the base of a cliff was pretty spectacular.
I’m still intrigued and fascinated by the saguaro cactuses. It’s just amazing that something can grow so tall in a desert with such an extreme climate.
One particularly interesting fact about them is their longevity and slow growth rate. Saguaros can live for over 150 years, and they grow very slowly, typically taking up to 15 years to reach a height of just 30 centimeters (about 12 inches). They don’t start growing their first “arm” until they are between 50 to 100 years old, depending on environmental conditions. This arm development is often used as a rough indicator of age, but it’s not entirely accurate since not all saguaros grow arms, and the rate of arm development can vary significantly.
And check this out. I also found a barrel cactus with some of its fruit still intact.
Saddle Mountain BLM Dispersed Camping
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