Saturday April 20
Saguaros Like You Have Never Seen Them. West Avra Valley Road, 35 mile car loop. 8-11am with John Scheuring. Fifteen-person limit. We will carpool west on Avra Valley Rd 20 miles with four stops for an eye-opening learning tour about saguaros and their associated native plants. This will include a half mile slow hike through desert filled with saguaros like you have never seen them: multi-armed saguaros of all types and stages of development, a saguaro singularly preferred by flickers, a lightning struck saguaro, multiple saguaro families around and under nurse trees, and telltale early signs of saguaro decline. Finally we will drive west to an area where we will discuss the natural history of saguaro pollination and genetic relatedness between neighboring saguaros. Many desert annual species will be in full bloom. Meet on the East side of the Marana Airport parking lot. The Marana airport is exactly 5 miles west of I-10 on Avra Valley road on the north side of the road. Note : ALL participants MUST be willing to carpool so we can limit the number of cars parked along the roadsides. Regular sedans and SUVs are welcome. For more information or to register, email tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com
