Happy Thanksgiving!

I didn't even think about today being Thanksgiving until yesterday, when I heard some people talking about the holidays. I wasn't really hoping for much, since I didn't have anything really set up through warmshowers for a place to stay, so I was probably going to be on the side of the road camped out somewhere.

Until JB stopped me on the side of the road. It was getting a bit late, almost sunset, and he wanted to know if I had anywhere to go or someone to celebrate with. I told him I didn't, and ended up going back to his house, which I had pretty much just passed. JB didn't have anything really planned, and he would have been spending the holiday alone as well, so it worked out nicely for both of us. 

He ended up getting a prepared takeout meal from somewhere in town, and we talked for quite a while about a lot of outdoors type stuff. He works as a landscaper, but is really a naturalist at heart, and spends quite a bit of time outdoors. All in all, a good way to spend the holiday.

Saguaro National Park

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting for Saguaro National Park, but this wasn't really it. I visited the eastern portion of Saguaro National Park, which is right on the border of Tuscon, AZ. Essentially this visit consisted of an 8 mile loop road that went through a bunch of desert terrain. It was pretty cool to be zooming downhill past a bunch of really sharp plants on either side.

The actual "saguaro" forest has been coming and going since the creation of the park. Apparently a variety of environmental factors have caused a lot of them to die off, creating much less of a forest appearance. Then, restrictions on grazing rights in the park have caused an increase in the number of new saguaro plants growing, so we'll have to wait and see if the forest can recover.

See the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61247038@N02/sets/72157632090894504/