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About 20 miles north of Phoenix, we start to see the spectacular Saguaro cactus
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Valerie Smart welcomes us to their winter home. John's back there somewhere
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Smile! Two happy campers . . .
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The Casa Grande area offers some very nice desert plants - this is a kind of acacia.
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We almost always stop to admire a cactus bloom
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The Casa Grande Ruins are pretty much a must visit around here
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The ruins are four stories high - but the stories aren't very high
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They've been roofed in an effort to help protect them
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Over the years, various methods of preservation and restoration have been attempted
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The docent explains that present ground level is about 4 feet above ancient ground level
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Those holes in the wall once held the supports of a floor
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The walls are packed earth, covered in a mud plaster. They are quite fragile
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A straight-on view of the hole in the far wall will show the full sun at the spring and fall equinoxes
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The main supports for floors were usually sycamore branches
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Archeologists have pretty well decided this large pueblo was the "town hall", not a residence
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Other ruins around the compound were probably residences
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These buildings were abandoned by about 1400 AD, and the villagers dispersed. No one knows why
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There are five compounds within the park; only this one is open to public tours
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A model shows how the structure probably looked when it was in use.
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This little guy is completely at home in this cactus
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A Fishhook cactus is fruiting . . .
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That's how it got the name "Fishhook"
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Angling for the proper shot does not necessarily display Al's better sides
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Did we mention we like cactus flowers?
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And then - the Organ Stop - pipe organ and pizza
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It's supposedly the world's largest Wurlitzer Theatre Organ
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The console rises theatrically from the pit when being played
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You get a really good view when you sit in the balcony
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The organist plays several 45-minute sets each evening
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He seems to know his way around all those buttons and knobs
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The Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix highlight the plants that live in the desert
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Many trees and shrubs were in bloom
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But we came primarily to see things like these glass sculptures
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These are named "Desert Wildflower Towers" by artist Dale Chihuly
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Again, lots of cactus in bloom and fruiting
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We understand that the fruit is edible. We'll have to accept that on face value
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That's all blown glass. Magnificent
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That's a Boojum Tree. A sign said so
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Be prepared for lots of cactus flowers
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It's wonderful to see these works of art "growing" in the garden
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There are many Saguaro cactus
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Not sure why some Prickly Pears are purple. Nature doing alliteration, perhaps?
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Ain't that great? It's called "Mexican Hat and Horn Tower"
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You can see the hats better close-up
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'Green and Blue Ferns" from the mind of Chihuly
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This 7 foot sphere is called "The Moon"
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Closeup of the moon. No green cheese here!
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More pretty blooms
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That's the tallest sculpture in the garden at 27 feet
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The "Saffron Tower" is all neon tubing. We hear the exhibit is spectacular at night
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It's hard to imagine the brain functions that come up with things like this
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There's a stark beauty to some of the garden areas
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Evidence of ancient volcanic activity remains
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Some cactus-like plants aren't really cactus
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This is called "Amber Cattails"
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Some of these sculptures have been used in other gardens. Many are new for this installation
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Some folks said it was a mockingbird. Recognized the call, they said
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How many different cactus types can you count?
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This is called "Blue Reeds, Marlins and Floats".
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We wonder how this stuff all got successfully shipped from Seattle
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The red ones are "Red Reeds". The black ones are "Black Saguaros"
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'The Float Boat". It's like the Easter Bunny went berserk
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The Saguaro is a spectacular cactus
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You can see how the Organ Pipe Cactus got named
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Sometimes we're not sure we haven't left the planet
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These "Ruby Fiddleheads" adorned a garden next to our lunch table
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It would be fun to watch these made
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That's a real plant. Nature holds it's own in this display
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Told you about those cactus flowers
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'Scorpion Tales and Bamboo"
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Birds build nests in Saguaros, turning them into condo complexes
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Happy little guy sitting on his apartment roof
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We don't know how many of these plants were moved to the gardens
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This fellow was inside the varmint screen around a plant, having an undisturbed feast
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Real plant
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Those "burls" occur about once in every 200,000 Saguaros
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Scientists don't know what triggers these malformations
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Cacti blooms are usually bright, the better to attract pollinating bees, birds and bats
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The skeletons of Saguaros are also interesting
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These "Blue Polyvitro Crystals" were floating on the oasis
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Is that bullfrog smiling at us?
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In a desert habitat exhibit, dipper gourds are dried
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Took us a lot of Googling to identify the Phainopepla, which feeds only on desert mistletoe
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A representation of a desert Indian dwelling
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This is a ramada - and you thought a ramada was a motel !
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Beautiful
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That's an Agave Root. Takes 5 days in a fire pit to make it edible. We didn't wait
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A pomegranate blossom. Never saw one before
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Given the blooms, we presume that's a pomegranate bush, tree or shrub
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Are you sure we're still on Earth?
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Would you believe "Blue and Purple Boat"?
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We're suckers for butterfly exhibits. We even pay extra to see them
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Judy got a good view. So did the butterfly
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The volunteers in the exhibit were handing out lots of freshly emerged butterflies we could release
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That meant most everybody could free a butterfly
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These things are fascinating
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Spring time has to be the best time to be in the desert
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The Chihuly exhibit included several chandeliers
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This one reminded us of octopi engaged in carnal behavior
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There have to be hundreds of hours in each of these creations
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We've seen these made on television - we still don't believe it
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The happiest-looking sculpture we've ever seen
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The melding of natural and man-made art is wonderful
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Another one of those rare deformed Saguaros
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It's called "White Belugas"
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Suppose this stuff confuses the birds and bugs?
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We'll be leaving these gardens in FOUR . .
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THREE
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TWO
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ONE
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GIFT SHOP! With enough money, you too can buy some Chihuly
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Skydive Arizona - Canadian Air Force guys get ready to skydive
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They apparently travel with a full support team
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These two gals were spouses
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A perfect two-point landing
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After you land, you have to collapse the chute and pick it all up
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And then trek back to have the chute repacked and jump again
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Judging by the dust on his coveralls, he used more than two points to hit ground
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For the most part, the jumpers repacked their own chutes
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Looks like he's heading for the bushes
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There were generally four jumpers in the air at any given time
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There were also some civilian skydivers
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Looks so relaxed
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Sometimes you have to fight the chute to get it down
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Sometimes it's really tough to get it organized
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Looks like a perfect landing
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Bet he wishes we'd not immortalized this landing
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The vertical wind tunnel lets skydivers practice maneuvers indoors
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In Casa Grande, The Alley hosts a monthly "Art in the Alley" event
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It was kind of like a street fair. We liked the old cars on display
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This was inside the old hearse
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Folks really spend some effort and money on these vintage cars
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Lots of love in these cars
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Near Tucson, the Visitor Center at the Saguaro National Park casts neat shadows
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The park is named for all those cactus plants
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Not all the plants are Saguaro Cactus
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This one's called an Ocotillo, and it's not a cactus. Still has lots of spines and stickers
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The ocotillo bloom is very pretty
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A trail near the visitor center takes us through a wash
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It was there we first encountered the Zebra-tail . . .
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They're about 8 inches long, nose to tail tip
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Saquaro cactus are impressive
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Judy found a bee in a cactus blossom. We found out later it was probably a Africanized honey bee
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It's estimated a Saguaro will develop 40 million seeds in a lifetime. Only one will root and grow
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Judy snapped this spectacular view from the screen during a slide show
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We've learned that cactus are native only to the Western Hemisphere
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And that the Saguaro is native only to the Sonora Desert System
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Although the plants are quite resilient, we suspect the graffiti is not approved
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Saguaro fruit, when ripened, is often harvested for various food treats
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Picture of a picture of the harvest of Saguaro fruits
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Another Ocotillo bloom. Really pretty
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A fully spiked chainfruit cholla almost seems to glow
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Pretty
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The skeleton of a recently deceased saguaro
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Being from the wet & green Northwest, these landscapes are fascinating to us
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The plants are almost alien
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Another skeleton
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Another Zebra-tail, showing her stripes
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Indian legends say that each Saguaro is a reincarnated person, and as such is to be protected
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Saguaro live about 200 years, and are up to 85% water, making them very heavy
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Although sometimes reaching 40ft tall, they have shallow roots, making them relatively easy to transplant
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We originaly went to the park to see their petroglyphs
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The most accessible petroglyphs are at the end of a short trail
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There do not appear to be any major ceremonial functions for the images
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The segmented circles are supposedly tortoise shells
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These are obviously deer or antelope
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This young visitor was less than enthralled with the picture rocks
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Definitely not prehistoric
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Although we've seen larger petroglyph displays, this was well worth the visit
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One last zebra-tail (aka Callisaurus draconoides rhodostictus) - this one a male in threat posture.
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Prickly pear in bloom
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Our last Saguaro photo (for now, anyway)
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North of Tucson, some interesting decorations on a new I-10 interchange
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And finally, some of the other interchange art. Makes the utilitarian more attractive