Documenting the Cristates!

This first crested saguaro I snapped in December 2013 over at The Desert Museum on the west side of town.

The ordinary/regular/run-of-the-mill saguaros have tips that look like the side arms of the above photo. Last winter I found this one out near Colossal Cave here in Vail.

The rest of the photos come from the 2014-2015 season. Caught this one off of Cactus Forest Trail in Saguaro National Park East. As you head south on the trail, after a few minutes hike, look up to your left on the side of Observation Hill.

This one I claim as my own discovery, though of course I am not the first to have seen it. It was just a short distance beyond the last cristate on Cactus Forest Trail. Again on the left, it is quite well hidden from the trail and I only found it because I was interested in some other saguaros off the beaten path.

This crested one has shown up on my blog before but I am wanting to document all I have seen so far and in the order of sighting. This specimen shows up in the Saguaro National Park East also, near the entrance to the Javalina Picnic area.

This lovely saguaro is off the Garwood Trail in the same park.

We recently hiked in one of our favourite haunts here for hiking, Sabino Canyon. Sherwin asked where we would see a crested saguaro and they pointed us to the Nature Loop. Very unusual.

This newbie can be viewed from Freeman Road but is still within the park, between Broadway and Speedway.

This past week we went with the photo club to the ASARCO Mineral Discovery site and found this one at the entrance to the visitor centre.

And then, on our way home to Vail we travelled down Sahuarita road, looking for two crested saguaros we had seen on our way to or from Green Valley on other occasions. Today I was ready to crawl through a fence and hike a bit to see them up close.

They are all a lot alike and yet each one has its own personality.

And this one I just threw in to let you know I do take photos of more than crested saguaros. I was just pleased at the late afternoon sky as we headed back to the car on on home.

Do have a lovely Sabbath.
Be well and stay in touch.