Adventure 560: Catalina State Park/Post H

Looking good at 100+

It's time to talk about humility. We humans often think of ourselves in grand terms, but sometimes we're presented with a magnificence quite beyond even our most storied accomplishments. Such is the case with the glorious columnar arborescent monotypic cactus species-genus Carnegie-the Saguaro by any other name. Living to ages past 150 years, growing to heights over forty feet, weighing up to five thousand pounds, and spreading a root network designed to slurp any moisture the desert provides, these plants native to the Sonoran Desert, the Whipple Mountains, and the Imperial County areas of California present a living example of God's true brilliance. So revered is this cactus that its blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. So prestigious is this cactus that its scientific name was given to honor the great philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, and in 1994, the Saguaro National Park was established to protect the species. It's against the law to harm a Saguaro, though some wild cowboys shoot them in a sport they call "plugging". It requires a permit just to move them, and many construction projects have been forced to work around them. Amazingly, it takes 75 years or so for a Saguaro to grow a first arm. Some, called spears, never grow arms. The tallest ever seen was an armless species that grew to 78 feet near Cave Creek, Arizona where it lived happily until it met its demise at the whim of a violent wind storm. The largest living Saguaro grows in Maricopa County and measures 45.3 feet. Maybe one of the most amazing elements in a Saguaro are its ribs, a material so dense and strong the Native peoples used them as building material. The Saguaro may be tree like, but it would be unwise to attempt climb them. The razor sharp spines that protrude along the ribs can grow to a third of an inch. These spines, and the hollow nature of the plant make them perfect bird houses, bringing us back to the idea of humility and community. Nearly every living thing from humming birds, bees, to nocturnal bats help pollinate the Saguaro. If such a magnificent breed of life can help sustain others as well as itself, how is not possible that we so called "top of the food chain" humans not be able to  show a measure of compassion, cooperation, and community for our fellows?

 These cactus grow only in a relatively small footprint in the American Southwest.

 I wonder how these two communicate? Surely such a magnificent "Ent" couldn't be mute.

The Saguaro grows arms in order to increase it reproductive possibilities. Anything to survive in this hostile world.