2: saguaros and wikieups
- Leslie Bevans
- Jan 11
- 4 min read
Dear Friend,
Have you ever been to Wikieup? It is located along highway 93, south of Kingman, Arizona.
The name sounds musical to me, like maybe it could mean the same thing as ‘accelerando with glee!’ But, no, it’s a Mojave word for ‘shelter.’
The town was established in 1864. The story goes that when it came time to come up with a name, there was a wikieup, (a building), that existed near the area where the proposed Post Office was to be built. The town was named after the wikieup.
Arizona has many other towns with names that we’ve smiled about. Towns like Nothing, Surprise, Why… when you drive through one small town after another, you don’t always catch the name. We laughed when leaving one such town as we came to a sign that read, “You are now beyond Hope.” Hope, Arizona, elevation 1526’, is known for mining and its hiking trails in La Paz county, one of the many little towns cut off from commerce when Interstate 10 was constructed. Hope sits at the junction of Arizona State Routes 72 and 60. It's a cute town, slowly re-growing.
A week and a half ago, we stayed just outside of Bouse, Arizona, another little cut-off town.
The landscape is rugged and rocky but somehow has a calm demeanor.
Back on U.S. Route 93, here’s a landmark that you really can’t miss.
As you can see, there are two Snoopy dogs, one big and one small, Snoopy’s brother, Spike, and the bird, Woodstock, riding this missile, which was originally a telephone pole. It was constructed by a couple from Michigan in the early 1990’s and when they moved on, they left it in place.
These colorful sculptures decorate the property of an RV park in Wikieup.
We didn’t stay there but Frank stopped in to see about bread at their prize-winning bakery and happened to have his camera with him.
Our current campground is just under 2000‘ elevation, outside the town of Wikieup. When we leave, we will have been here for one week. This part of Arizona is a rock-hounder's dream, so many formations and different types of minerals to look for.
Frank was solo hiking along a trail a few miles from our campground and came upon these two wild burros. Hard to believe but they were very shy at first.
He also walked a well-known trail to a warm-springs.
We’ve had time to explore the area but there is so much to this place, we’re hoping to visit again, soon.
This area is a confluence of three desert biomes, the Great Basin, the Mojave, and the Sonoran. The wild burro population does well, there are lots of plants to nibble, creeks to drink from and canyons for shade.
There is a very diverse population of cactus and other desert plants in this confluence.
We always love to see the saguaro. Without having to travel too much further south into the Sonoran Desert, (the only biome where saguaro cactus grow naturally), we can visit them here!
This Saguaro cactus is around 14’ tall, so it’s probably between 60 and 90 years old, and it hopefully, has a long life ahead. Saguaros have been known to live to see their 200th birthday. (Unless a saguaro has been observed from seedling, even for trained botanists, the age of a saguaro cactus is a best-guestimate based on the terrain, soil make-up, elevation, and climate).
They are very slow growing cacti and typically don’t ‘sprout’ arms before 50 years of age.
They live for decades before producing flowers, the State flower of Arizona. Big, white-petaled with yellow stamen flowers form on the tops of the cacti. These night-blooming flowers are pollinated by moths and bats, and the seeds of the delicious-looking red, juicy, saguaro cacti are spread by birds and animals. People have harvested and enjoyed these sweet fruits for centuries, too.
Saguaro have spines, of course. Did you ever think of a cactus spine as a leaf? I found a YouTube video that explains spines, Nature’s Fortress, and how cacti keep water in and predators out. (Link follows blog/letter).
Though not currently endangered, Saguaro cacti are protected, and are considered ‘key species,’ meaning they are critical to the health and well-being of their environment. While living, a saguaro provides shade, nutrients and shelter to some birds and animals; when the cactus dies, its carcass becomes home to many desert creatures. So, in a way, saguaros and wikieups ... are both comforting shelters in the desert.
Another YouTube video explains what you might find when a saguaro dies. (Link follows blog/letter). It is amazing how cacti heal from injuries. They ultimately create water-tight vessels (boots) where a bird has built a nest.
And sadly, saguaro cactuses are dying at a greater rate than they are able to reproduce. This video explains more about our current cactus crisis. (Link follows blog/letter). It is heart-breaking to see the desert in such a state of silent suffering.
Whenever we see them, saguaros are such beautiful stillness!
We appreciate you, and we keep you in our daily Thanksgivings. Thank you for reading Tracks by the Post. As human beings, it is not always easy to find time to be still. We appreciate that you choose to spend some of your stillness-time with us!
We might not be able to post next week. We’re not sure yet, we’ll see. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to Write to Us, we always look forward to hearing from you!
Wishing you and yours plenty of time for good, long conversations.
Gently Be,
Leslie and Frank
PS: Here are the links to the YouTube videos I mentioned:
