Once again I headed for the desert, in search of some magic ...
I had a tip on a big top-crest near Bagdad, so I made that my first stop. I could have stayed forever, lost in the crest's swirling pattern, but there are only so many hours in the day:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest370.php
I also needed time to check out a smaller top-crest I'd spotted a few hundred feet away on the same slope:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai100/crest158.php
I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful an endless prospect of magic and wonder.
Ansel Adams
I found a good campsite just as the sun was setting, and in morning waited for the sun to rise and bring its warmth:
Near my campsite was the location of Bob and Pat's C1453, so that was my first errand of the morning. Unfortunately, the crest had broken off and was decaying on the ground:
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Bob and Pat's 2010 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest95.php
On the walk back to my Jeep, this saguaro's unusual growth pattern caught my eye:
Back on the dirt road, I took an updated telephoto shot of this roadside arm crest from my Jeep:
My 2020 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai200/crest230.php
I let my path wander, and stumbled upon a section of power-line road I'd never driven. I soon spotted this new find:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest66.php
On the short walk back to my Jeep, I found several nice big chalcedony specimens:
A bit farther along the power-line road, I made another new find:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest67.php
... and only about 150 feet away, another:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest68.php
This photo shows how close together the two crested saguaros are:
Another chalcedony specimen, this one geode-like:
Back on the Highway, I turned off on the dirt road to Signal. This Y-tip saguaro looked like it might crest in the future:
The cows acted like they don't see many vehicles in these parts:
Another updated shot of a roadside arm crest; this one has grown a LOT since I found it 8 years previously!
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My 2016 photos:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest16.php
I looked for Bob and Pat's C1820, but there was nothing at the coordinates. However, while I was walking around, I saw what looked like a mutant or glomerate arm on a saguaro on a nearby ridge. When I hiked over to it I saw that it was actually a nice arm crest:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest69.php
A multiple-Y saguaro in the distance, not quite crested (yet):
I remembered seeing an almost-crested saguaro when I drove this road several years ago, and decided I'd look for it. My 2016 telephoto shot from the road:
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I spotted it and hiked over to it; only then did I realize it was the same as the elusive C1820, a fish-tail crest! (Bob and Pat's coordinates were way off.)
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Bob and Pat's 2011 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest52.php
I barely had enough daylight to run over and document this small arm crest that I spotted from the road:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest70.php
Again, I found a nice campsite just at sunset. Long after dark, just before turning in, I photographed the night sky the bright planet Jupiter next to (top to bottom) the Pleiades, Taurus, and Orion:
Everywhere we look, complex magic of nature blazes before us.
Vincent van Gogh
I awoke a couple of hours before sunrise, my campsite illuminated by the pale light of a waning crescent moon:
After the sun came up, I noticed that someone had created a memorial next to my campsite complete with chairs for visitors to relax and enjoy the view:
I continued my exploration of the nearby side roads, under the watchful eyes of the local burros:
Along one such road, I found this arm crest:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/crmohave/crest71.php
And more not-quite-crested saguaros, including this mutant/Y-split:
... and this tall Y-split:
At this point, I decided to experience a little civilization for a change. In Wickenburg, I had lunch and visited the Desert Caballeros Western Museum:
One of the museum's exhibitions featured artwork done with pencil on paper. This amazingly-detailed drypoint etching on paper is Nest of the Desert Wren - Arizona, c. 1920-1929, by George Elbert Burr:
On permanent exhibit is the museum's Bola tie collection, which includes several made from various natural materials:
If you thought the Crested Saguaro Society was an oddly specific organization, behold the Bola Tie Society of Arizona!
The museum has several dioramas showing the history of the Wickenburg area:
But soon I heeded the call of the wild, and was back on the road out of town. Somehow this arm crest escaped my attention even though I'd driven past it a cauple of years earlier:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai200/crest281.php
Nearby I checked up on C1470:
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Bob and Pat's 2010 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai/crest99.php
... and a few hundred feet away, spotted this arm crest:
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crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai300/crest374.php
I also spotted a saguaro with this not-quite-crested arm ... I recorded the coordinates so I can monitor its growth on future visits:
I had time for one last side road before heading home, to check up on Bob and Pat's C1470:
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Bob and Pat's 2010 photo:
crestedsaguarosociety.org/crested/cryavapai100/crest102.php
On the highway, homeward bound, I paused to admire the sunset colors over distant mountains:
And with that, another desert adventure ended on a magical note ...
Mike, let me tell you something: the whole world is a circus, if you know how to look at it. The way the sun goes down when you're tired, comes up when you want to be on the move that's real magic. The way a leaf grows, the song of the birds, the way the desert looks at night with the moon embracing it ah my boy, that's, that's circus enough for anyone. Every time you watch a rainbow and feel wonder in your heart, every time you pick up a handful of dust and see not the dust, but a mystery, a marvel there in your hand. Every time you stop and think "I'm alive and being alive is fantastic!" Every time such a thing happens, you're part of the circus of Dr. Lao.
7 Faces of Dr. Lao, screenplay by Charles Beaumont, based on the novel by Charles G. Finney
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