After enjoying brunch with my little brother and sister-in-law it was time to start heading down to Phoenix to see my parents. There was some wind but it wasn’t bad and the relatively short ride was warm, and uneventful, both of which I appreciated.  I saw this guy near the side of the road on my way to brunch, he didn’t seem too worried but when I reved up the bike he disappeared pretty quick.  It was kinda funny – I was actually looking for the roadrunner that I imagined he must be trying to figure out how to catch….

It’s the time of year when the saguaro cactus are starting to bloom. I wonder what those flowers smell like??  I was going to try to stop on my way somewhere and get a picture when I remembered that my parents have a saguaro in their front yard, & lucky for me, it was in bloom as well.  The bloom on the saguaro cactus is the state flower of Arizona.  Couple other facts about the saguaro: their roots are only 4 to 6 inches below the ground but extend out as far as the cactus is tall.  There is one “tap root” that goes straight down from the cactus but only two or three feet.  The ribs of dead saguaros are just like wood and have many uses here where the trees are scarce.

I will be spending a couple days with my folks here in Phoenix before getting back on the road.  The good news for you is that since I’m a couple days behind on getting these ride updates done, you won’t notice too much of a gap in updates, maybe a day.  So, until I get back on the road, take care & check back in another day or two for the next update.