Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park is located near Tucson, AZ. There is actually a west and an east park area. The pictures on this page were taken in the west park area.

The Park is within the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert is described as a young desert, 10,000 years old. As a young desert, it has an amazingly wide variety of flora and fauna. However, among all this variety, saguaros stand out. 

As you can see from the first picture, there is a virtual forest of saguaros in the park. They grow from the bottom of ravines to the tops of the mountains. It's safe to say that saguaros are plentiful and widespread in Arizona. Saguaros are fully protected by law, not only in the Park but throughout Arizona. 

Saguaros may live to be more than 150 years old, towering more than 50 feet above the desert, and weighing 8 tons or more! They grow extremely slowly. After 15 years a saguaro may be barely a foot tall. After about 75 years of age, a saguaro may grow its first arm. The interior structure of a saguaro is woody as you can see in the third picture. These woody ribs were used for a variety of purposes by native peoples in the Southwest. 

The final picture is of a barrel cactus in bloom.

Morenci Copper Mine in AZ

The Morenci Copper Mine, operated by Phelps Dodge, is one of the largest open pit copper mines in the world. It annually produces 380,000 tons of copper and employs 2000 people. It originated as an underground mine but was converted to an open pit operation in 1937. 

The pictures can only give you a general idea of the scale of the operation. The first picture gives you a good view of what is apparently the deepest part of the mine, but, in fact, is only a small area in a mining operation that reaches as far as the eye can see. Our viewpoint was from the southeastern rim of the excavation.

The second photo provides perspective of the size. The dragline and the mining truck which you can see in the center left of the picture are massive machines. The mine currently has 60 Caterpillar mine trucks, each of which is capable of carrying from 218 to 272 tons of ore.

The ore is blasted loose and hauled to an onsite crushing facility, which is capable of processing up to 63,500 tons each day. Copper is extracted using a leaching process with kerosene as the leaching agent. 

Phelps Dodge has provided modular homes for company employees in Clifton. 

Arizona 191 takes you out of Clifton, literally through the mine. Parts of the road have been relocated recently to facilitate mining of what was once the roadway. Scenic Hwy 191 continues northward to Alpine. It is one of the most beautiful, scenic drives we've come across on this trip. We highly recommend it if you have the opportunity and the time. For the most part it goes through miles of unspoiled, unsettled national forest area.

Sunset at White Sands

Sunset over the desert is a unique experience. The following photos are of sunset over the White Sands Missile Range. The photos show the gathering twilight over the desert and the surrounding mountains. The pictures tell the rest of the story.

The Flora of White Sands

A number of truly hardy plant species have adapted to life in this white shifting sand environ- ment. A few examples are pictured. These plants' existence create some interesting architecture. In combination with sunset, they provide some great photo opportunities. 

According to the National Park Service brochure:

A few plants are remarkably adapted to avoid burial by moving sand. The soaptree yucca elongates its stem to keep its leaves above the sand, growing upward a foot per year. Some plants anchor parts of a dune with their roots and keep growing on a sand pedestal even after the dune moves on.

Visiting White Sands in the winter, one doesn't see the dramatic effect of these desert plants in bloom. 

White Sands

Most people know White Sands as part of the name of a missile range in south-eastern New Mexico. The White Sands Missile Range is about 60 miles east to west and 100 miles north to south. It is the largest military reserve in the lower 48. 

It got its name, however, from a small area within the reserve that is, in fact, white sand dunes composed largely of gypsum. A "small area" is relative; the dunes cover 275 square miles of the desert. The road through the dunes stretches 8 miles. 

A large portion of the dunes area is devoid of vegetation. The white dunes stretch as far as the eye can see. Around the edges of the dunes area a variety of vegetation struggles to hang on in this harsh environment.

The road into the dunes begins as a paved road and ends as a compacted sand trail. In the heart of the dunes, the National Park Service duels with the prevailing wind. Modified snow plows are used to push back the drifting sand to keep the roads open. The dunes continue to move in the direction of the prevailing winds. 

The dunes are located at the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert in the Tularosa Basin. The Basin is ringed by mountains. This is a popular tourist attraction. The Park Service has provided amenities. While the picture looks like a row of Conestoga wagons, it is in fact portable picnic shelters oriented to provide protection from the prevailing wind.

Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad Caverns is one of the best known tourist attractions in the U.S. After touring it recently, we understand why.

The Caverns are located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in south eastern New Mexico's Chihuanuan Desert. The National Park Service offers both guided and unguided tours. We took an unguided tour of the Big Room. The perimeter walk is 1.3 miles. It includes gigantic subterranean chambers and fantastic cave formations.

Carlsbad Cavern began 250 million years ago with the creation of a 400-mile long reef in an inland sea that covered the region. Over time geologic processes resulted in the formation of sulfuric acid in the rock formation which dissolved limestone and opened fractures and faults into today's large chambers. The stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and curtains are still being formed by dripping water continuing to dissolve various minerals in the cave.

In the third of our pictures, you can see the ripple effect from a single drop of water into one of a number of pools throughout the chamber.

The Caverns are home to thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats from early spring to October. Each night the bats exist the cave enmasse to feed on insects. The exodus can last from 20 minutes to 2 1/2 hours every night! The bats migrate to Mexico for the winter months, so we did not have the opportunity to experience this phenomena...

Our pictures will give you some idea of the variety of formations, but to appreciate the scale of this underground wonder you simply have to visit! 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church in New Mexico

St. Joseph's Catholic Church is an imposing edifice on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, not far from Ruidoso, New Mexico. The church has walls four feet thick in some places. It is currently nearly through a renovation period.

The church was decorated for Christmas when we visited. In the center of the sanctuary (altar area) was a white tepee with the Holy Family in a manager scene inside the tepee. The Holy Family were Native American images. Adam and Isaac, our grandsons, were fascinated by the manger scene.

Not shown in our pictures is a painting of Jesus as a Native American. The two stations of the cross in the last picture also depict Native Americans.

Smoky Bear Historical Park

Our visit to Smoky Bear Historical Park was especially fun because we had two little boys with us. The Park is in Capitan, New Mexico, near the place where the original Smoky Bear cub was found after a forest fire. 

There are exhibits, movies, games, and memorabilia in the Visitor Center. The original Smoky Bear lived most of his life in the National Zoo in Washington, DC.  

Over the years, many celebrities have been the voice of Smoky in efforts to reduce the incidences of forest fires caused by humans. 

There was a special effort to reduce forest fires during World War II because wood was considered a precious natural resource critical to the war effort.

The park area outside the Center includes the burial site of the original Smoky Bear as well as a park-like trail showing trees native to the area.

Note to readers: There was just a bit of snow along the trail.

Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

The Three Rivers Petroglyph site is north of Alamagordo and is managed by the Federal Government. There are over 21,000 glyphs from the Jornada Mogollon people who lived in the area between 900 and 1400 A.D. They traded with other agriculturalists, the Anasazi. By the time the Spanish entered the area in the 1500s, these villages had been mysteriously abandoned. 

The glyphs depict a wide variety of things: birds, plants, animals, insects, people, and geometric designs. The 21,000+ glyphs were extensively studied and catalogued during the site's excavation which ended in 1976. The 50-acre site is open to the public and provides one of few sites where the public can wander freely and view the glyphs. The trail leads the viewer about a mile along a ridge.  

The first photo shows a bold geometric design; the second, the thunderbird. The third glyph depicts a sheep with arrows through it.

In the distance to the east one can see Sierra Blanca Peak, one of the highest points in New Mexico. 

Balloon "Glow"

Shortly before Christmas, the largest mall in Las Cruces sponsored a balloon "glow" event. A "glow" involves inflating the balloons after dark to get the effect of light inside the canopy without lifting off.

The first picture shows several balloons in initial stage of inflation. Large engine-powered fans are used to get the balloons inflated to the point that it is safe to light their very powerful propane burners. 

The second picture shows one balloon fully inflated, while another is getting close to upright inflation.

The third picture shows a balloon glowing after the propane burners have been ignited. "Glowing" takes place in short bursts because the glow is created by the propane burner which generates the hot air necessary for flight. So, if you don't want to fly, there is only a limited amount of "glowing" you can do.

The fourth picture shows several balloons "glowing." It was difficult to synchonize the "glowing" because the balloons were different sizes and because "glowing" really is the by-product of generating hot air to keep the balloon upright.  If you're not going anywhere, it doesn't take much hot air so glows occur in short bursts.

Christmas in New Mexico

We arrived in Las Cruces December 7 to spend Christmas with our family. The Iowa Deckers arrived the 13th. What a blast we had with all four little boys! We had our early Christmas at Sean and Candace's house in east Las Cruces. 

The first picture shows the whole family. Most of you can imagine trying to get four boys, ages 3 and under, to pose.

The second picture shows Aidan and Collin, sons of Jerry and Tanya.

The third picture is of Adam and Isaac, sons of Sean and Candace.

And the final picture is of the two little guys, Collin and Isaac.

Grandpa and Grandma returned to the camper each night--tired and joyful! What a Christmas!