Crested Saguaro Society

Crest Quest Reports

May 4 - 6, 2024 — Above the Verde River, and near Wickenburg

Report by Joe Orman

On this trip, I explored two different areas ... and in each, I made some new discoveries and revisited some old ones.

The adventure began as my daughter Kelly, her boyfriend Rob and I followed a faint thread of road, as it left pavement and wound into a remote set of hills above the Verde River:



This aloe-like plant with stalks of bright flowers was conspicuous along the roadway; Kelly later identified it as Gila County Live-Forever:



The road gradually dropped in elevation, bringing us into cactus country. Hedgehog cactus in bloom:



This roadrunner posed for its portrait, perched on the branch of an ocotillo:



We were exploring this particular road because I'd seen someone's photo of an arm-crest saguaro; we easily found it beside the road. Note that the arms of the saguaro were long-ago "topped" by the electric company to keep them away from the high-voltage powerlines overhead:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest612.php


Farther down the road, I recognized an old acquaintance — this arm crest I'd first discovered while hiking through the area in 2017:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa400/crest439.php


Each prickly pear cactus blossom was a supernova in miniature:



At one rest stop, my binos picked out this nice top-crest about a half-mile off the road, but we didn't take the time to hike out to it. I shall return!

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest613.php


By the time we got this great view looking out over the twisting strand of greenery that lined the Verde River, it was late in the afternoon so we turned around and headed back:



At one point we had to stop and wait for a desert tortoise crossing the road:



A few minutes later, I jumped out to get a pic of this gila monster as it wended its way from the road into the underbrush:



At one curve in the road, Rob thought he'd found a new arm crest — I regretted to inform him it was also one I'd discovered on that 2017 hike:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa400/crest432.php


The sun was going down when we saw a second gila monster crossing the road. By the time we finally returned to pavement to make the drive home, it was long after dark:



The next day found me making my solo way homeward. Near Wickenburg, I stopped go get an updated photo of this top-crest just off the highway (Bob and Pat's C941):

Photos dating back to 2007:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest70.php


These wild burros wondered what the heck I was doing:



I then followed a faint side road into the hills, looking in vain for a place to camp. I eventually found myself high on a windy ridge and realized the sun was setting:



I beat a hastry retreat back off the ridge, and made camp in a wash that was sheltered from the wind:



Walking away from the campfire, I pondered the starry night:

The roads I travel are winding ones ... the twists in time lead me to new places, but inevitably past places already known. I treasure each in its turn.