Small-town celebration

Ah, the 4th of July. Independence Day.

A day to reflect on the lives lost -- military and civilians -- in our nation's initial fight for freedom and the daily battle to maintain that freedom ever since.

Cities and towns and communities large and small throughout the United States mark the holiday -- primarily with fireworks.

But it is the small communities that really make the day and occasion with parades, daylong celebrations with music, dancing, games and food.

Little Ajo falls in that category.

A parade kicked off the day at 8 a.m. And then the Plaza came alive with hours of games and entertainment.


There was face painting (handled, of course, by the school art teacher), and a dunking booth, wet sponge throw (at live volunteers offering up faces on Bart Simpson's body), a dart throw, three-legged races, a watermelon-eating contest and much more.

For the adults, music throughout the day

Generally it's a day of stifling temperatures, but this year cool weather prevailed and sprinkles came and went during the day. After park events concluded for the day but before it was time for the fireworks, the community even received a much-needed and always welcome thunderstorm.

The day's high was reported as only 85 degrees (according to Earth Only), but the extra humidity made it seem much warmer -- especially since desert dwellers are so accustomed to dry, dry, dry. Early morning showers and the afternoon thunderstorm combined for about 0.25 of an inch of rain.

Seek beauty

This is not my favorite time of year.

Gone are the weeks of hot days and cool nights. Now, it's just hot.

Gone are the beautiful wildflowers, and gone, too, now are the cactus blooms.

Soon enough it will be hot and sticky. Unpleasant, but at least there will be the monsoon storms. Excitement and anticipation as the skies fill with clouds and thunder and lightning and wind-driven haboobs.

Renewed life. Plants perking up, taking on a greener shade of green as they quickly absorb their share of the moisture. And the dust and grayness of these months are washed away.

For now, it's harder to find beauty in the desert. Everything is a little too brown, a little too gray, a little too dry, a little too far away.

But the slant of the morning sun awakens and renews our spirits, and our eyes find beauty in unexpected places.

In my yard is a dead tree. It is the most beautiful dead tree I have ever seen. Stately and strong, even as it decays. As more pieces fall away, it grows ever more interesting.

See for yourself.

Take a spin along AZ-238

The highway running between the towns of Gila Bend and Maricopa is among my favorite to drive.

Locally referred to as "Dead Cow Road," AZ-238 is punctuated by small hills, gullies and curves that make it a fun driving experience, especially if you don't mind taking your chance at exceeding the 55 mph limit.

It also is a scenic drive as the road winds through the Sonoran Desert National Monument, a 487,000-acre preserve administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Once it was possible to turn off the highway and travel through the monument. There was a 10-mile route suggested for 4-wheel-drive vehicles (or 2-wheel-drive pickups whose owners were confident of their driving expertise). It also once was an area available to horseback riders, backpackers, hikers and more. However, nowadays, access to the more remote areas is restricted as drug and people smugglers have made it a dangerous area.

But it remains scenic, even from the highway. With a landscape of nearby mountains and tall saguaros, the roadside beckons to travelers to stop and snap a few photos. And a steady supply of freight trains running along tracks on the south side of the highway make for additional photo opportunities.

During summer monsoon season, rains drench the mountains. The gullies across the highway quickly fill with swift-moving floodwaters, and drivers can find themselves temporarily stuck between two washes, waiting for the water to recede.

This time of year however, saguaros are the stars of the show. The peak blooming season has past, but a few white flowers still dot the tops of the saguaro arms. Blackened spent blooms are striking against the green cactus branches, and soon there will be bright red fruit.

Saguaros are found exclusively in the Sonoran Desert, and the white blooms are the state's official flower. The cacti can live to be 200 years old and often grow to be more than 40 feet tall with multiple arms.

Next time you're in the neighborhood, grab your camera and take a spin on 238.

Super Moon over the Sonoran Desert

A super moon rose Saturday evening. With the landscape still well lighted by the setting sun, the moon climbed over the mountains north of Ajo.

Published reports, which quoted NASA, said the moon seemed especially big and bright since it was at its closest spot to Earth at the same time it is in its full phase. It was as much as 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons of 2012.

Near Ajo, the moon rose over the hilltops just before 7:30 p.m., just minutes after a fiery sun set on the opposite horizon.

Wildflowers yield floor to cactus blooms

Yellows, whites and other hues still decorate the desert. However, the wildflowers have yielded the desert floor to other plants.

Rather than hillsides of showy brittle brush, now the yellow is from mesquite and palo verde trees.  And small flowers have made way for the whites of saguaro flowers and yellows of prickly pear and pinks of other cacti.

Prickly pear cactus, blooming in my back yard in Ajo.

Blossoms decorate palo verde trees in yards and in the wild. Then the blossoms decorate yards and parking lots and vehicles and patios and pools. "Yellow snow" has an all unique meaning for desert dwellers. Even bugs and bees enjoy the trees' blooms.