Phoenix is a huge city! Driving from Glendale to Chandler (northwest to southeast) takes the better part of two hours, so I can only imagine how long it would take to walk or ride my bike all over town, especially in triple-digit heat. Arizona called me for two reasons: doing some voice-over for Fearless Journey, and to see my best friend, John, from 5th grade. He and I would spend hours together as kids playing video games, swatting flies, and causing mischief...typical things 5th graders get up to. My voice-over work is complete for now, but with searing heat, high petrol prices, and John having a heat-related health condition, a road trip or any major outdoor activity is out the door for now, no pun intended. John would offer to drop me at the Desert Botanical Garden. Phoenix isn't thought of as having heaps of tourist sites or being easy to get around if you don't drive. Public transportation in the Valley of the Sun leaves a lot to be desired.
As a young city kid, moving to Arizona was a real change. All of a sudden I was going from Nintendo to cactus, from Legos to lizards, and from toy airplanes to desert sand. It was like stepping onto another planet. My mother had got me a potholder in the shape of Texas when I was very small but I often wonder if it was moving to Arizona that really heightened my dream to travel. Cactus with gigantic arms would light my eyes up. Desert sunsets would leave me wishing I was a painter. Nights with a million stars would leave me wishing I could see the Earth from orbit. My time in Arizona would occur in a couple of stretches of a few months, but my knowledge of a Gila monster, one of only two known venomous lizards, would lead to a dispute with my 5th grade teacher when I was back in California a few months later.
John would drop me at the Desert Botanical Garden and I had a goal, in 105-degree heat, of finding 20 geocaches and doing as much as possible today. Ticket prices are reduced in the summer months. I was greeted by a vast array of cactus that immediately brought back nostalgic memories. The saguaro can live for up to 200 years and can grow up to 25 arms, although some don't grow any arms. Some of them can actually look like they're giving you the middle finger.
This majestic cactus is a symbol of Arizona and often, incorrectly, of the Wild West. You'll see it on "Old El Paso" salsa jars but the saguaro doesn't grow in or near El Paso. The other symbolic variety is the organ pipe cactus.
Think of a pipe organ, and you'll see how it gets its name. All around I was greeted with many varieties of cactus.
The Desert Botanical Garden is a wonderful place to explore, hot day or not.
However, there is thousands of square miles of cactus all around outside. Geocaching would call me, and I set myself a goal for the day. However, I underestimated the heat and didn't bring proper footwear. My aim was 20 finds for today but I found only about 11, and I was practically out of energy by mid-afternoon. This rock with a hole amazed my weary self.
Place a blindfold on me and I'd think I was back in Australia. A gulp of water and air conditioning felt great after all the walking I did in the blazing sun. I wanted to try out the public transport at least once, so I took the light rail and bus back to John's home. The Sonoran Desert can, at first glance, be devoid of life but once you look deeper, it is in fact teeming with life. I literally felt like I stepped onto a world in another galaxy.
