Springtime in the Desert

We took a drive out to Apache Junction, about 40 miles east of Phoenix to look for desert flowers in bloom. Alas, we were a bit premature; it’s still a little early. Prospects look good for the next couple of weeks. After an unusually wet winter, the desert is awash with green, plants that will bloom very shortly. I’m keeping my eye on the progress of the flowers and I’ll be back to catch them when they’re in bloom.

Nonetheless, it was a brilliant day and I did get a few shots that made the trip worthwhile.

Superstition Mountain, framed by a felled tree branch and a Saguaro cactus. What is unusual about this picture is the green foliage on the desert floor, mostly wildflowers waiting to bloom. In drier times there is no greenery, just the gravelly surface of the desert.

A beautifully formed cactus pictured against the background of Superstition Mountain and a brilliant blue sky. The magnificent Saguaro Cactus, the state flower of Arizona, is composed of a tall, thick, fluted, columnar stem, 18 to 24 inches in diameter, often with several large branches (arms) curving upward in the most distinctive conformation of all Southwestern cacti.
The skin is smooth and waxy, the trunk and stems have stout, 2-inch spines clustered on their ribs. When water is absorbed , the outer pulp of the Saguaro can expand like an accordion, increasing the diameter of the stem and, in this way, can increase its weight by up to a ton. The Saguaro grows very slowly — perhaps an inch a year — but to a great height, 15 to 50 feet. The largest plants, with more than 5 arms, are estimated to be 200 years old. An average old Saguaro would have 5 arms and be about 30 feet tall.

The Elvis Presley Chapel is a movie memorabilia museum showing the movies that were filmed at Apacheland Movie Ranch, which was located in nearby Gold Canyon.

Survivor of two fires, one in 1969 and one in 2004 which decimated Apacheland Movie Ranch, the Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel was donated to the Superstition Mountain Museum.The chapel was taken down piece by piece, nail by nail, and reconstructed on the museum ground. The Apacheland Movie Ranch was a special museum of western motion pictures and television shows that were filmed there over a 45 year period, including “Charro,” which starred Elvis Presley. Among some of the better known motion pictures filmed at Apacheland were: The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Arizona Raiders ,The Haunted, The Gambler II and Blind Justice. Television series included Have Gun Will Travel, and Wanted Dead or Alive.

The Elvis Presley Chapel will also serve, as it has since it was first constructed, as a wedding chapel.