Fawkes Tails: Jeep Trek

One interesting pastime out in Arizona is jeeping. I first saw what I dubbed a "grown up all-terrain vehicle" at my first RV park in Apache Junction and thought it must be a golf cart on steroids. I was all wrong. It was a Polaris RZR (aka razor) ATV used for off-roading, a very popular activity amongst retirees (and plenty of non-retirees) in Arizona.
Fast forward a month to the RV park I'm in now-where there are probably 10 jeeps and 8 razors that go out in a weekly procession and return eight hours later in the same procession-with dusty vehicles and grinning inhabitants. Curious about what they do and where they go, I asked my jeeping neighbor, who generously volunteered to take me out for a day of off-roading. Driving up and down dry washes, cruising mountain trails and ridge lines with beautiful vistas was inspiring.
As it turns out, quite a bit of the open land is used for cattle grazing. It was interesting to see how ranchers manage cattle in an arid region with water capturing cisterns and corrals.
Here are some photos from our jeep trip. Don pointed out a crested saguaro cactus pictured below. Very rare. Many thanks Don for a fun and educational day.