The Sonoran Desert:
To satisfy an appetite for solitude and seek out some sizable Saguaro Cactus to photograph, I set out for the isolation of Margies Cove, a stark, rugged plateau in the heart of the 63,200-acre North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness, a sub-region of the Sonoran Desert. The Maricopa Mountains are a jumble of long ridges and isolated peaks separated by extensive, saguaro-studded bajadas and broad desert washes. Aside from the iconic Saguaro Cactus, the Sonoran Desert contains various unique and endemic plants and animals: Organ Pipe Cactus, Cholla, Ocotillo, Prickly Pear, Paloverde, Ironwood, and Mexican jumping bean—all complement the saguaro's thick stands to form classic Sonoran Desert vistas. Wildlife includes desert mule, deer, javelina, desert bighorn sheep, coyote, desert tortoise, and numerous varieties of lizards and birds. Margies Cove is a combination of former vehicle tracks and broad unmarked desert washes. No trail signage or directional markers are available—which keeps the area off the beaten path.
Next to the 10-gallon hat and the cowboy boot, there is no more widely recognized symbol of the Southwest than the giant saguaro cactus. And nowhere else in the region can you find more of these famous figures than the North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness. The saguaro is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea that can grow to be over 40 feet tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains and Imperial County areas of California. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona.
The defining characteristics of the desert are the amount and seasonality of rainfall. Much of the region has a bi-seasonal rainfall pattern, although most days are sunny even during the rainy seasons. From December to March, frontal storms from the northern Pacific Ocean occasionally bring widespread, gentle rain to the Sonoran Desert's northwestern portion—including Tucson and Saguaro National Park. From July to mid-September, the summer monsoon brings surges of wet tropical air and frequent, but localized, violent thunderstorms. Considered the world's wettest desert, the Sonoran is the only place on the planet where the saguaro cactus grows in the wild.
March 2021, North Pacific storms bring ice, rain, thunder, and lightning, to the North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness. Not a good time to be out in the open, miles from a major highway.  It's was pointless trying to outrun the storm over harsh terrain—so, what else could I do but photograph it!
A typical landscape view of the Sonoran Desert, barren and unforgiving! It appears that everything out here wants to bite, scratch or sting. The North Maricopa Mountains are visible in the background.
Margies Cove in the North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness.  
The Saguaro is the largest cactus in the United States. It is believed that the Saguaro obtains most of its moisture during the summer rainy season. Most of the Saguaro's roots are only 4-6 inches deep and radiate out as far from the plant as it is tall. The Saguaro is a slow-growing cactus; a 10-year-old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall. By 70 years, the cactus can reach 6.5 feet tall and can finally produce flowers. By 95-100 years, a Saguaro Cactus can reach a height of 15-16 feet and start growing arms. Saguaro can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall. When rain is plentiful and the Saguaro is fully hydrated, it can weigh between 3200-4800 pounds. The Saguaro is not currently listed as threatened or endangered. Arizona has strict regulations about the harvesting, collection, or destruction of this species. It is estimated that with the right growing conditions, saguaros can live to be as much as 150-200 years old.
A saguaro cactus visibly sustained fire damage indicated by the lack of needles and burn marks is growing a new arm. Lightning from summer storms has ignited fires in these mountains for thousands of years. Forests and Meadows rely on fire for clearing dead wood, thinning brush, and releasing seeds. Working under a carefully prepared Fire Management Plan, park crews monitor natural fires in the Rincon Mountains. Human life and property are always protected, but some fires are allowed to burn to bring renewal to the mountain forests.
A young Saguaro Cactus unaffected by the recent wildfires shows a healthy green skin and a thick mesh of black protective thorns. According to the height and age ratio this young cactus is roughly 15 feet tall and is approximately 100 years old. The cactus would have spawned around 1921.
Early morning thunderstorms bring a welcoming relief to the desert.  Rain-drenched leaves from the Ocotillo Cactus. Ocotillo Cactus (Fouquieria Splendens) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and the Chihuahuan Desert in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. While semi-succulent and a desert plant, Ocotillo is more closely related to tea and blueberries than cactuses.
The oldest recorded Saguaro, or cactus for that matter, in the world was found here in Arizona, in the Saguaro National Park (East) and aptly nicknamed 'Old Granddaddy.' Granddaddy stood 40 feet tall at the height of its glory, weighed three tons, and boasted fifty-two arms. Granddaddy had begun to die in 1992 from a disease known as bacterial necrosis, a common affliction among old Saguaros. King of the cacti, it had stood in view of the Rincon Peak for almost 300 years. Just to put that date into perspective! Old Granddaddy would have spawned and taken route circa 1692. The Glencoe Massacre took place on February 13, where 38 MacDonalds were slaughtered in the early morning by a rival clan, the Campbell's. The infamous Salem witch trials began in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. On July 22, Kingston, Jamaica, was founded after an earthquake and related tsunami destroy Port Royal, Jamaica's capital.
At the end of the circle—the decaying remains of a saguaro cactus! After the saguaro dies, its woody ribs are a popular material to build roofs, fences, and furniture parts.
Southwestern Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus Wislizeni), also called the Candy Barrel Cactus, the Fishhook Barrel Cactus, and the Arizona Barrel Cactus is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. A cylindrical cactus that sometimes reaches ten feet in height and two feet in diameter and is one of our rarest cacti. It is round in its early stages, then oval or cone-shaped, and finally cylindrical. The flowers vary in color among shades of yellow, gold, red, and orange and are about 2 inches long and up to 3 inches across. The petals are short in relation to the width of the center portion. Yellow fruits follow.
A young 'Mammillaria Grahamii' cactus (also known as Graham's Nipple Cactus) pushing upwards from the desert floor.
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