Desert Roads

While on my way to take pictures of the desert last weekend, a funny thing happened: I missed a turn and ended up at Hoover Dam.

Oh well, as someone who has a knack for taking the wrong turn anyway, I have decided that when these things happen, I'm not really lost, just exploring.

So on the way out I was able to stop and get this shot of the dam bypass highway construction. What you see is an arch being built to support the highway. For some reason, the sight of such a structure in its half-built state is more impressive than when it is all done and looks like it was always there. I just can't imagine what it must be like to be up there working on that thing, eek!

This shot was taken on the road to Nelson's Landing, on the same day. The clouds were gathering, it was windy, and in fact we got some rain later in the day. I just love the light, and the yellow Brittlebush that were in bloom, and the rugged mountains with the cloud shadows marching off into the distance.

Finally here is a shot of a hillside with a stand of Teddy Bear Cholla cacti glowing in the light. This type of cactus is a very strange variety, with dense spines very close together all over. It looks almost soft from a distance, but on the contrary it is is very, very prickly! Also, as you can see in this picture, the bottom of the cactus tends to die off, at least outwardly, turning brown, while the top of the cactus continues to grow and remains very light. These cacti tend to grow in stands like this, with new ones starting from the dropped pieces of existing ones. I have one of these in my garden at home, and I have also noticed that it is the most efficient water collector I have ever seen. If you spray the top of the cactus, the water is focused almost magically towards the central part of the cactus and runs down to its base. I keep thinking there must be a way to use this fact, some enterprising engineer ought to take a look at the structure of these and figure out how to harness their water-focusing powers!