Arizona is home to a forest that is unlike any other in the US, it is a forest of Cacti.  From a distance they look harmless, like stick figures with friendly arms waving at you, but they are definitely plants that know how to protect themselves.

Their size is deceiving, while some are small and others much larger  they all have a wicked defense mechanism. Their defense mechanism is tiny needles that are really quite small but powerful to the inattentive, which aptly describes a photographer when looking through a viewfinder. One can get nailed at the slightest brush against a plant. Their needles  are but capable of penetrating Mr. Strauss’s toughest jeans without any problem despite their diminutive size.  A trip through a cactus forest in shorts would be pure torture, not to mention weeks of tweezer work.  As it was the cactus attacked sufficiently for this photographer to have to sit down and pull up a pant leg to remove the offending needles.

After removing the warning barbs from my knee, the cactus were polite and let me high tail it back to the rental car without any further attacks. Thank goodness they didn’t call in the scorpions that reside underground there for reinforcements.

Next stop:
The Wigwams on Route 66

Dallas Gregory Photography
www.dallasgregoryphoto.com