Crested Saguaro Society

Crest Quest Reports

Early 2026 — Odds and Ends

Report by Joe Orman

Here's a round-up of all the cresties I photographed in the first half of 2026, other than those already covered in the reports for my trips to Tucson and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

January 10, 2026 — East of Phoenix

I was geocaching in the area, so I stopped for an updated photo of this roadside crest:

Photos dating back to 2019:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal600/crest668.php

January 13, 2026 — Desert Foothills Gardens Nursery

I stopped by this nursery in Cave Creek, but unfortunately the crested saguaro at the entrance (Bob and Pat's C404) was gone. The workers told the trunk had developed rot and it had to be removed. Here's the last photo I took of it, in 2022:

Photos dating back to 2006:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest26.php

I walked around the nursery anyway, and found a few other crested plants they had for sale. Crested golden barrels:

More specimens:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/barrel/crest151.php

Crested blue myrtle (whortleberry):

More specimens:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cereus/crest24.php

Crested dwarf blue myrtle:

More specimens:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cereus/crest25.php

Crested cereus:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cereus/crest26.php

January 16-18, 2026 — Black Canyon City to Wickenburg

While driving this route, I stopped to get updated photos of a few crests just off the highway. First was Bob and Pat's C1370:

Photos dating back to 2009:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest28.php

From there, I could get a telephoto shot of this multi-Y crest I'd found more than 11 years earlier:

My 2014 discovery photos:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest86.php

Next stop was Bob and Pat's C934:

Photos dating back to 2007:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest63.php

Then Bob and Pat's C941:

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

Finally, this saguaro that was just cresting out when I found it back in 2012 (Bob's C2079):

Photos dating back to 2012:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest73.php

Febuary 7, 2026 — near Gold Canyon

I'd seen online photos of this crested saguaro, and from the background of the photos I was able to figure out the location. A short 4WD ride with my daughter Kelly and her husband Rob brought us to it:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal300/crest398.php

Febuary 14-16, 2026 — near Black Canyon City

Close by my campsite was a huge crest I'd found 7 years earlier; I walked over to it but found it down:

Photos dating back to 2018:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai100/crest164.php

... but hiking in the area over the next two days, I found two newly-cresting saguaros:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai400/crest418.php

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai400/crest419.php

March 23-24, 2026 — near Salome and Quartzsite

Driving down the highway, I spotted this crested saguaro in an RV Park:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crlapaz/crest66.php

I had a tip on a crest in a mountain range; I parked my vehicle and when the road got too rough I hiked the rest of the way to it:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crlapaz/crest67.php

I detoured to check up on this roadside crest (Bob and Pat's 1488) I'd last photographed about 15 years earlier:

Photos dating back to 2010:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crlapaz/crest5.php

Another detour on another highway to check out a tip I'd been sitting on for almost five years:

Photos dating back to 2021:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryuma/crest10.php

One final detour, on a dirt road outside of Quartzsite, to another crest (Bob and Pat's 1554) I hadn't visited in about 15 years. Sadly, this one was down:

Photos dating back to 2010:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crlapaz/crest7.php

March 24-27, 2026 — Joshua Tree National Park, California

After leaving Quartzsite, I proceeded to Joshua Tree National Park, where I stayed for several days. Since there are no saguaros there, I occupied myself with finding crested specimens of pencil cholla:

More specimens:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cholla/crest42.php

April 16, 2026 — near Apache Junction

When I got the tip on this nice top-crest, I was surprised it was unknown to me, since it was not far off a busy highway I'd driven countless times:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest641.php

April 19, 2026 — near Wickenburg

I was visiting a nature preserve with my daughter Heather when I spotted this crested chain fruit cholla in front of the visitor center:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cholla/crest38.php

April 22, 2026 — outside of Phoenix

My daughter Kelly had sent me a tip on this arm crest she spotted on a back road northeast of Phoenix; I hadn't been in the area since it burned in the 2020 Bush Fire:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest643.php

Nearby I spotted two more arm crests:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest642.php

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest644.php

Kelly had also sent me a tip on this arm crest in a different area west of Phoenix:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest621.php

April 25-26, 2026 — near Wickenburg

I did a short hike off a back road, and was pleasantly surprised to find this rare ring crest only a few hundred feet off the road:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai400/crest420.php

The next day, I hiked into a different set of hills and found two new crested saguaros:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest645.php

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest646.php

April 27, 2026 — north of Cave Creek

On this all-day hike to check out a tip, I also took updated photos of several known crested saguaros. This is a telephoto shot of an arm crest I'd first found in 2013:

2013 photos:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa200/crest244.php

Another telephoto shot (Bob and Pat's C1415):

Photos dating back to 2009:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest4.php

I made the off-trail scramble to check up on this huge arm crest I'd found 15 years earlier; I wonder if I'm the only person who's ever seen it:

Photos dating back to 2011:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa100/crest189.php

Many people have seen this ring crest (Bob and Pat's C1412) over the years, since it's right by the trail. Unfortunately, I found it down:

Photos dating back to 2009:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest2.php

This big top crest is the one I'd had a tip on; a rough off-trail scramble brought me to it:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa600/crest647.php

On the hike back, a detour took me by this double arm crest (Bob and Pat's C1417) I'd last photographed 13 years earlier:

Photos dating back to 2009:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest5.php

Nearby, I checked up on a huge top crest (Bob and Pat's C1416) I'd also last photographed 13 years earlier. I was sad to see the crest had broken off and was decaying on the ground:

Photos dating back to 2004:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmaricopa/crest3.php

May 5-7, 2026 — near Florence

I spent three days driving dirt roads, hiking, and camping in this area. My first find was this odd crest a few hundred feet off a dirt road:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest941.php

The same road took me past this arm crest my late wife Pam had spotted in 2014, so I stopped for an updated photo:

Photos dating back to 2014:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal200/crest217.php

On that same 2014 trip, we'd unsuccessfully tried to find this big arm crest (Bob and Pat's C1226). This time I had the exact coordinates, but I was too late ... the saguaro had died:

Bob's 2009 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal500/crest525.php

But there were plenty of new discoveries to make up for it, including this small top crest nearby:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest942.php

I spotted this arm crest just off the road:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest943.php

With my binos, I was barely able to see this arm crest peeking out from behind the saguaro trunk:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest944.php

This top crest surprised me as I drove around a curve on a back road:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest945.php

I debated whether this one should be called "crested," but in the end I decided it should:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest946.php

Another road took me past Bob and Pat's C1531, which I hadn't visited since 2014. I stopped to check up on it, but found it dead and collapsed:

Photos dating back to 2010:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal200/crest216.php

Thanks to Harry Ford for passing along the tip on this nice arm crest from Murphy Lynch:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest947.php

Along the same dirt road, I found a couple of other arm crests:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest948.php

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest949.php

... and this small fish-tail top crest:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest950.php

The road back to the highway took me past this multi-Y (Bob and Pat's C184), which I also hadn't visited since 2014:

Photos dating back to 2005:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal200/crest215.php

This magnificent crested saguaro (Bob and Pat's C1529) is right on the highway, and has been photographed many times over the years:

Photos dating back to 2010:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal100/crest115.php

A stone's throw away is this multiple-Y saguaro:

Lastly, I took a long hike into a roadless area of the cactus forest. This multiple-Y saguaro was also a judgment call; I decided "not quite crested":

This saguaro had several arms sprouting from its tip; one was crested:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crpinal900/crest951.php

Looping back to my vehicle, I found three crested cholla cactuses within a few feet of each other. This is one:

Photos of all three:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cholla/crest39.php

Just before I got back to my vehicle, I found one more crested cholla. It's so close to the highway, you can see the asphalt in the background of this photo!:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cholla/crest40.php

May 8, 2026 — near Wickenburg

Passing through the Wickenburg area, I took a side road and a short hike to check out a double arm crest (Bob and Pat's C1391), but found it down and decaying:

Bob and Pat's 2009 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest32.php

Lastly, I drove the streets of a nearby RV park, and in one front yard spotted this crested boxing glove cholla:

crestedsaguarosociety.org/mutant/cholla/crest41.php

That's all for this crest-hunting season ... I'm looking forward to resuming the Crest Quest when the weather cools off in the fall!