Hello again! Here in the Arizona desert we had an unusually cool May, so I was able to get in some more crest-hunting ...
May 3 — Superstition Wilderness
I'd seen an Internet posting on a crested hedgehog cactus, and in the background of the photo I recognized the profile of the "Flatiron" cliff in the front range of the Superstition Mountains. Google Maps helped me narrow down the location, and when I did the hike myself on May 3 I easily found the hedgehog, right where I expected it:
Close up:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/hedgehog/crest21.php
One rule of thumb about cresties is "where there's one, there's probably another," so I wandered around the area looking at all the other hedgehogs. I didn't find another crested one, but I did see some in bloom:
... and plenty of other wildflowers. Saguaro:
Palo verde:
Cholla:
Prickly pear:
The saguaros are fairly thick in this area, and of course I kept my eye out for crested ones ... saw several Y-splits:
Finally, my binos picked out what looked like a crested saguaro -- way up a canyon among some cliffs! After some serious scrambling, I made it up to this ancient-looking side-crest:
Close up other side:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal600/crest673.php
As is my habit, I returned to the trailhead by making a cross-country loop -- more chance to run into a crestie that way! Sure enough, my route took me past this arm crest:
Full view:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal600/crest674.php
This barrel cactus also caught my attention, but turned out to be more two-headed than crested:
Three-way split arm:
Hiking cross-country also leads to other serendipitous discoveries ... like this cluster of bird eggs under a bush:
As I started driving home from the trailhead, I was surprised and delighted to see this crested organ pipe cactus in a yard -- one last bonus for the day:
Close up other side:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/organpipe/crest84.php
May 11 — New River
Sometimes the Crest Quest entails a lot of frustration before it pays off! Last year I saw an Internet post about a big top-crest near New River, but the photos didn't show the surroundings very well and the caption was vague -- just that it required a long hike up a wash to a spring. Using Google Maps, I identified three candidate washes and last September I hiked two of them without finding the top-crest (it wasn't a total waste of time ... on those two outings I found four other crested saguaros!). More recently, there was another posting about the big top-crest, and this time the photo included a distinctive mesa in the background which allowed me to nail down the location -- yep, it was that third wash that I hadn't hiked! So on this May 11 outing I was able to walk right to it (and with my Jeep I was able to drive within 1/3 mile of it -- no "long hike" required):
Views of other side:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa500/crest510.php
This is the mesa -- as long as I was in the area, I decided to climb it:
Along the way, I passed some petroglyphs:
... and plenty of cactus flowers. Cholla:
Teddybear cholla:
Barrel:
Prickly pear:
Fishhook pincushion:
I had to laugh at the determination of this young saguaro growing right out of the face of a cliff:
I wondered if I would find Native American ruins on top -- yep:
Potsherds made me ponder deep time -- what traces of our lives will we leave behind?
Also on top I found this brightly-colored insect ... bonus points for anyone that can identify it:
I scanned the surrounding hills in all directions with my spotting scope, but the only crested saguaros I spotted were these three on a distant slope that I'd discovered back in 2011 (I took Joe P. out to see them later that same year):
CSS web pages:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa100/crest116.php
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa100/crest117.php
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa100/crest118.php
I'd love to have this saguaro skeleton in my yard, but it's protected by law -- and the miles I'd have to carry it back to my vehicle!
On the drive out, I photographed a mutant saguaro right beside the dirt road ... this arm was probably crested at one time, but is now decayed and scarred over:
I also had a tip on a crested saguaro in a yard right next to the freeway -- unfortunately it was private property with No Trespassing signs, so I had to settle for telephoto shots:
Other angle:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa500/crest509.php
While walking through the adjacent field to get those photos, I spotted this literal "snake in the grass" -- fortunately before I stepped too close:
May 18 — Bush Highway and beyond
On the start of my drive to New Mexico for a week's vacation, I paused to get updated photos of some crested saguaros that were on the way ...
I'm sad to have to report that the often-photographed "Saxophone" at the intersection of Usery Pass Road and Bush Highway fell this March -- the trunk snapped at the base:
Photos dating back to 2006:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa200/crest210.php
Fortunately, only 240' to the south, this saguaro that Joe P. and I noticed starting to crest out in 2013 is healthy and continuing to crest:
Photos dating back to 2013:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa200/crest246.php
I also took an updated photo of this arm crest that I've been watching crest out since I first spotted it from the highway in 2011 (by the way, my daughter Kelly independently spotted it soon after):
Photos dating back to 2011:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa100/crest136.php
Animation of all the photos I've taken of it since 2011 -- watch the crest grow:
Crested Saguaro Growth Animation
Continuing my drive along the Mogollon Rim, I kept an eye out for crested specimens of the mullein (aka flannel plant) that commonly grows along mountain highways. I found two -- but both were dead:
Better (live) specimens can be seen here:
Joe Orman's Photo Pages - Other Crested Cactuses
Well that's all for May; I hope you enjoyed the journey. I probably won't be sending out another report until the weather cools off in the fall ... until then, take care.
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