The Desert

The desert has its own beauty – a beauty not always evident as we hurtle through it.  We spent the last two days coming across the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts in southern New Mexico and Arizona.  (This picture was shot through the side window at 75 mph.  The white mark is a reflection.)

The truck traffic along Interstate 10 is intense.  It is an easy, snow- and ice-free route, with the continental divide only about 4,000 feet.  It makes sense that the trucks prefer it.

Even the highway rest stops can be hazardous:

We also spent much of today driving around Phoenix.  I lived there more than 40 years ago.  It has built up even more since then.  It makes me happy to be in Portland.  Here’s a charging station in Scottsdale:

We saw lots of cactus today.  I had forgotten just how many saguaro there are.

And then there were these bloomin’ things that I can’t identify:

And another plant I can’t identify:

Tomorrow we continue west and north into the Mojave Desert.