January 1 thru January 19
We have had lots of fun with all kinds of activities here at the RV parking including games on Wednesday and Thursday nites and several singing groups. We also went on a 4 mile hike in the desert one day. We do enjoy walking in the desert. We have been walking 2 times a day once in the desert and the other just around the rv park here. The desert plants are quite interesting and I have been doing some research on them. Thought we would share some information and pictures of them. If you are not interested….just skip over this lesson. This information was taken mostly from the internet with a few comments of my own. (see pictures of each plant below)

Jumping Cholla (choy – ya)
From a distance the jumping cholla, or teddy bear cholla, looks like a fuzzy, soft plant with many short, fuzzy branches looking like teddy bear arms, growing from the top. As you get closer you realize that the cuddly looking plant is completely covered with silvery spines. If you are unlucky enough to touch the spines, you will find yourself painfully stuck to a spiny segment that seems to have "jumped" off the plant. Segments will also "jump" when stepped on and attach themselves to your leg. The segmented joint of the jumping cholla separate easily when brushed up against. These segments can be found littering the ground around the cholla. There they take root and grow, sometimes forming large forests of cuddly looking teddy bear chollas. Although the jumping cholla has flowers and forms fruit, the fruit is usually sterile, and the plant relies on the dropped stems to propagate.

Barrel Cactus
The Barrel cactus can be easily distinguished from other cacti because of it cylinder-shaped body. The cactus usually reaches from around five to eleven feet tall, and at that height it is one of the largest cacti in the North American deserts. This cactus is really a man-sized (or bigger) cylinder with numerous parallel ridges that run down the sides. These ridges are topped with dangerously sharp 3-4 inch spines. The barrel cactus is also a flowering plant. It has rings of yellow-green or red blossoms at its top.

The Ocotillo (ock – o – tee – yah)
The Ocotillo grows in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, California and Mexico. . From its root crown it grows stems that can be any%