Standing at every step of my Arizona adventure, the saguaro signify the desert, and the purpose of this entire trip. Up until this point, I’ve been pointing out the prickly pear (such as the purple one you see here) or the palo verde or thorny ocotillo. Even the decidedly unflashy creosote shrub has gotten better billing than the saguaro. Tomorrow morning that all changes, when the most dramatic and impressive of Arizona plants rises and takes its rightful pride of place in the climax of this series of desert posts.
