A Walk In The Desert

This is one variety of cholla (choy-a) cactus. Believe it or not, it's related to the prickly pear, seen here. It is in the Opuntia class of jointed succulents.

I've tried to figure out which type of the three I think I've identified out there. I've ruled out one, which I plan to go out tomorrow to photograph. My best guess is that it is a Buckhorn Cholla. It has even started to bloom.

Pieces break of easily and cling to your clothes. I had one stuck to my sneaker for a while before I noticed it. Fortunately there was one tiny end that I could gingerly touch to pull it off and I still got pricked. Needles went through the mesh of my shoe and pricked my foot, too. Just a four inch piece.

Between the snake holes, the animal dung, the rattlesnakes and the cactus, you have to watch your step, even on the paths, in the desert.