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Page 10 - The Trip Home
Old man of the Andes (Oreocereus celsianus and O. trollii) is very hardy to cold if kept dry. These are at an Exotic Cactus Ranch in Truth or Consequences, NM. I hope I can grow that much white hair when I become an old man (living in the Andes would be nice too!).
Trichocereus terscheckii and T. pasacana (middle left) at that same nursery.
I met up with André in Albuquerque again and we looked at some architecture in Old Town. It was a great experience visiting Albuquerque when it was warm, not like last December! When I photographed his Yucca faxonianas last December the one at right had lost its crown to snout weevils - now it has grown back!
Spineless Opuntia with Sabal and Nolina matapensis in André's garden.
A shot of André's Albuquerque garden with Washingtonia filifera and Musa basjoo.
André's fabulous Washingtonia filifera palms.
I took many shots of Old Town Albuquerque architecture. Supposedly I am supposed to see Santa Fe because it is many times better.
The next morning found me in southwest Colorado hunting for Echinocereus with Joe Keifer of Triple Oaks Nursery in New Jersey. We didn't find any this time, but there are some nice forms of Opuntia polyacantha around Durango.
At Joe's brother's house were many interesting artistic features, like this replica of Batman carved out of a rock!
These trunkless Yuccas around northern Arizona and southern Utah are, to me, the most difficult ones to sort out. These are probably Y. baileyi.
Cool pointy rocks near Kayenta, AZ.
Going west the forms of O. polyacantha got increasingly interesting and attractive, like this plant near Marsh Pass. (Actually, I'm not sure this wouldn't be O. erinacea.)
Hey, cool, something besides an Opuntia! That's what I thought when I found this plant near Marsh Pass. It must be a Sclerocactus, possibly S. parviflorus or S. whipplei. When I pulled the seed capsules off, all the seeds fell off onto the plant and I couldn't reach them because the spines were in the way. South of Page, AZ, I found Agave utahensis kaibabensis, but there was no way I could pull off the road and photograph it without turning around and backtracking many miles. I passed it by, hoping to find it again on the road up the Kaibab Plateau, but I did not. However, I did find Opuntia nichollii and some other cool cacti south of Page before it was dark (though it was too dark for any good pictures). I started the next morning near Kanab, Utah.
Red Canyon, Utah. I crossed the north end of Bryce Canyon National Park, but did not enter the main scenic area of the park.
More Yuccas, probably Y. baileyi. These are at a pass between Bryce Canyon and Escalante. None of the Yuccas I found in Utah had any seed left - apparently they flower and set seed rather early.
At the same pass, some O. polyacantha forms similar to those in the Durango area.
Opuntia phaecantha near Escalante. There seem to be some nice forms of this species scattered around southern Utah.
Rockscape above Esclante Canyon.
Y. harrimaniae growing out of a rock, casting a perfect spiky shadow.
A wider shot of the Escalante Canyon area. I would have enjoyed camping here for a couple weeks (or maybe months) and exploring all the canyons!
At one point this highway goes up 9,400' into the mountains, where fall was already arriving (it was September 23rd) and turning the aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) a brilliant shade of yellow.
The last cactus I saw on my trip, Opuntia polyacantha at an 8,000' mountain pass west of Loa, Utah, forming nice mats of rather large pads for this species. When I drove through here last December, I missed these plants because they were covered in snow, the temperature was below 0°F, and it was dark! I could have looked around Utah for more cacti if I had the time, as there are many Echinocereus and more Opuntias. But as it was, I had to hurry on home. So ends my September 2005 trip to the Southwest US! My car is a little beat up and I ruined my thermarest (I can't imagine what might have punctured it, ha ha) - but it was worth it! I hope you have enjoyed this collection trip report. Distance driven: 7,700 miles
A depiction of my route traveled in red. |
