Day 75 – A Horse With No Name

15 Jul Day 75 – A Horse With No Name

Crossed my first official desert today. Sitting on the outskirts of Phoenix. The desert was not what I expected.

Police

I got stopped twice today by police. The first asked if I had been walking in the middle of the road. I hadn’t then i explained what I was doing and he realised I probably wouldn’t have got this far if i was messing around. The second stopped me about 0.5 miles form the end of the day. It was dusk and he was concerned. Again I explained what I was doing and I think he got the feeling I knew what I was doing. Nice of them both to stop and wish me well on my way. I am always very polite to police, you never know what they are pulling you over for, I always take off my hat and sunglasses to make sure I am as approachable as possible. They seem to respond well to this.

Cacti

The desert was fill with the Saguaro Cactus. There were hundreds off them of all different sizes with numerous different arms. There was one I found that looked like it was asking for a hug. I did not oblige it this and walked on. I remember Clev, a fellow rugby coach, saying he would dress up in a cactus outfit and follow me across the desert! I haven’t spotted him yet! As it came to sunset it was almost a picture with the light hitting the hills and the Cacti. Such an amazing place to be. Apparently these Cacti only grown in Arizona and New Mexico, nowhere else in the world. Also they grow a foot every ten years, so i esitmated some of them to be over 150 years old!

The Desert

After leaving the raining forest, I was expecting flat yellow sands for a desert, no such luck. It was just more hills but with less trees and more Cacti! The temperature shot up as we descended over 6500 feet over the last two days. It is a little more humid but it is all manageable. I still haven’t decided what is the best weather to walk in. I guess cool and dry, but I don’t have the luxury of setting my weather. seems we have hit phoenix at a cool patch in the summer and we will be out the other side and heading for Big River which is on the California Border by Wednesday next week. Only one more day this week! Can’t wait to sleep in on Saturday!