Intrigued by the title? Of course, there's a story behind it. Would you expect anything less?
Marty and I find ourselves gallivanting in Arizona this week and today we set out to Cave Creek Regional Park to satisfy Marty's desire to see Saguaro cacti. The weather was picture perfect, and the temperatures were ideal for us to venture out on a 3 1/2 mile hike which offered him the opportunity to get close up and personal with these stately creations of his dreams.
We parked the car, I grabbed some walking sticks, and we set out on the start of the Slate Trail.
First stop: The Michelin Man:
It was certainly the most unusual cactus that we viewed today.
But there were several types of these beautiful plants for us to admire along our hike.
This formation looked like hugging friends
and the vistas from the trail were pretty amazing.
Along the trail were various benches, strategically located in places with outstanding views
and they always seemed to pop up just when I needed a break. And, what better excuse to sit and admire the beauty of our surrounds?
I'm happy to report that Marty thoroughly enjoyed today's adventure, and here you can see Marty posing in front of one of his new friends.
You might note the holes in the cactus. It turns out that the Gila woodpecker (which looks strikingly similar to what we call a flickr in Pennsylvania), loves the Saguaro cactus even more than Marty. They can be found nesting and feeding on these cacti, and as a sidenote, they have a call that sounds similar to a dog's squeak toy. Pretty entertaining.
And here is where the realization hit that the trails are named after various minerals that can be easily viewed upon the trail. The picture doesn't do it justice, but when I took it, the stones were sparkling, and it was quite obvious that these were pieces of quartz, just like the sign implied.
We soon came upon a large formation of the mineral along the hillside.
About a mile along the trail, I took this shot of Marty standing next to a tall cactus with an amazing view of the mountains in the background.
As we walked along, the trail offered more and more incredible vistas.
It was a pretty arduous trail for me, even with walking sticks, and I was pretty relieved when we were near the end and managed to capture a photo of the "three amigos".
It kind of looks like they are waving good-bye, don't you think?
And, so we were.... but let's get back to that title. I spotted it on a bench, which sat at the cross roads of the Slate and Quartz trails, and I found it to be quite endearing.
"The Romance of a Thousand Lifetimes Begins with a Single Kiss".
What a sweet memory for a couple who was obviously much loved by the donor.
And yes, Marty and I did take a break on this particular bench. But Mum's the word regarding whether or not we took it to heart.
Until next time....
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