The Bloomin’ Desert

Color is not something I thought I’d see in the desert. I had myself geared up for the heat and the dust, but I never imagined the desert plants and cactus flowers in Arizona blooming during our April trips to Tucson and Phoenix. I think this yellow acacia tree was the culprit for some of the allergies I heard about from other visitors during the spring in Arizona. I think it looks like a Dr. Seuss desert plant.

The palo verde tree, as the name implies, had pale green bark and yellow flowers. It was brilliant and unmistakeable as we drove by it on the freeway or parked under it in parking lots.

I don’t know if the Ocotillo are my new favorite plant because of their fiery red blooms, their tall thorny stalks in contrast to the beautiful flower, or because it’s just fun to say “Ocotillo.”

Little birds would flit onto the thorns and hang out for a while to watch the view from way up over the ground.

I’m not going to lie and say we didn’t see scenes like this:

It’s just that more often than not they were accompanied by color like this:

Please visit my guest blog with links to reviews about our trip to the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa are up on Trekaroo.com. I’m a 2011 Superoo (OCPlayParks) for the family travel website.

This is also my contribution to Suz Lipman’s Photo Friday on SlowFamilyOnline.com (just for fun!).