Climate, Cotton, Culture, Copper, Cactus

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We attended the Florence Historical Tour last Saturday. A nice event, but Florence could benefit with a bit more emphasis on the new. It's said that all politics are local. Florence is no exception. There are several council members that want nothing new developed in the area. As a result several businesses that wanted to locate here have gone elsewhere.

Arizona produces two-thirds of the copper in the US. It's the the tenth largest producer of cotton as well. Cotton fields can be found for miles in Pinal and Maricopa counties. Irrigation is done through a series of narrow canals on the roadside edges of the fields.

Hiking every Thursday with my Canadian buddy, Gar. The last two weeks have led us to Weavers Needle in the Superstitious Mountains. Further into the caldera is Roger's Trough. Last week we hiked to the cliff caves that the Salado Indians inhabited until 600 years ago. We were on the canyon floor crossing a creek bed. This was an incredible riparian area. Reptiles are being encountered with more frequency. Desert wildflowers are adding an amazing array of colors to mountain sides.

Cindy and I are volunteering at Boyce Thompson Arboreetum, Arizona's largest. Desert biomes from around the world are found here.http://ag.arizona.edu/bta/ I'm doing two types of tours for tourists, the general tour and are you ready...the 'Plants of the Bible' tour.

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Photos

Weaver's Needle
The remains of a volcano millions of years old.

Natures Power
Lichens, wind, water, freezing and thawing, and time have created this unique structure.

Roger's Canyon
Standing in the canyon basin looking back. One would not expect this to be in the middle of the Sonoron Desert.

Dwelling Entrances
The purpose of the hike, to get into these ruins. Once home to the Salado Indians. There is still speculation why they left the area. Most experts think it was climate related.

Homes in the Mountain Face
There still remains enough structure to see how they constructed their homes.