I basically go on the same vacation every year, so I hope not to disappoint people with the same pics of the same places. Mostly I am into wildlife and plants, so a lot of the pics I take are of wildlife or palms (hardy palms) and other cool plants. Most of the repeat pics are going to be of palms etc... I like to see how plants have grown other the years or how the have weathered through a bad winter.
Getting Close to Kingman AZ
When we finally made it to Kingman we stayed the night at the Holidayinn Exspress. I like the Holidayinn Exspress but I think the one in Kingman was way over prised. Even with our discounts the room for 2 was $128.00 for the night! And this was the off season! I have stayed here in the past but it was cheaper then, even though we had 4 to a room! I wont be staying there again!
Pics of plants near the Holidayinn.
Pindo palm, CIDP, W. robustas
W. robustas, looking good after the new growth.
CIDP, some burn but not bad.
Pindo Palm, looking good.
Med palms, no damage.
CIDP, pindo palm, I don't think it died because of cold?
Desert Willow, looking good.
Ferocactus acanthodes, I would hate to remove all that grass from the base.
I think this is Mohave Yucca (Y. schidigera), but not for sure?
Ocotillo
W. robustas, Holidayinn
W. filibusta?
W. robustas, Holidayinn.
W. robusta trying to push up a new leaf.
Sago's, looks good.
More W. robustas.
A hybrid Hesperaloe, a Hesperaloe funifera with pink flowers? Parvifolia on the left.
Y. brevifolia
Unknown cholla, this thing was huge, the dumpster was close!
Very big and very nice Y. brevifolia (j-tree)
Biggest Y. baccata I have ever seen. Almost as tall as I am.
From Kingman the next stop was Wikiup, on the north side of town is a nice Gift Shop, Restaurant combo. From the restaurant side there is an entrance to the desert garden. This was a pleasant garden with water, wildlife, and some nice palms.
Western Whiptail Lizard, in the Garden
Opuntia ficus, some winter burn.
Agave americana
P. dactylifera, new growth from winter burn.
W. robusta, new growth from winter burn.
Unknown cactus. Cool cactus, big and no burn.
Desert Spiny Lizard, hiding in the shadow.
And this is the Shop on the south side of Wikiup.
About half way in between Wikiup and Wikenburg is a nice wilderness area, with large boulders, O. chlorotica, and lots of Nolina bigelovii.
After driving through the freeway jungle of Phoenix and Tucson, I was able to again relax and pull off the road at Benson for a quick pic of the smoke filled sky.
Destination Willcox. The place where we spent the rest of the Vacation. And the first thing I did when I got into town was a drive down the road to see if the W. robustas lived through the winter cold. It is amazing that most if not all the palms survived after record cold and some places dipped below 0F.
Holidayinn Express, Willcox AZ, nice place to stay, and a good prise.
Hesperaloe funifera
Nolina sp
Hesperaloe funifera
Sad to see the apple pie place has closed.
Yucca elata
Fig, all the top growth dead from the cold, but alive.
Sad to see all the hotels empty (old highway), must have been a different world before the freeway come through.
Once an old A&W
Med palms, hit hard from the cold.
CIDP, probably defoliated from the cold, but putting on new growth.
Ferocactus wislizenii, looks good, much better up close.
W. robustas
CIDP's alive.
Coronado Vineyards, just outside of Willcox, did a little wine tasting
The community of Sunsites/Pearce, a nice place with nice people. This is probably my favorite spot for retirement, was definitely a nice place for us to go on a bike ride.
W. filibusta
W. robusta's
Saguaro, winter burn, but alive.
Opuntia ficus, some pads are alive
W. filiferas, almost look worse than the robustas do.
W. filifera's
CIDP
Med palm
Trachy, looks good.
Med palm
Y. schottii? I think.
The club house.
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