A big day for MSU and very large cactus

Today’s activities were scheduled around one thing – the Michigan State versus Michigan football game.

I was up early and went to the fitness center here at the RV park and because of the time difference was able to watch College Game Day while I worked out for 90 minutes. All the “experts” on the show predicted Michigan would win and I was pretty much resigned to the fact our string of victories over the Wolverines would come to an end.

The Spartans had a different idea and by early afternoon it was apparent, although not a pretty win, that we would tack on another victory over the cross state rivals. The Spartans still need to clean up their undisciplined play and certainly the future for the Wolverines looks good with their new coach and quarterback Denard Robinson.

So congratulations Spartans on a hard fought 28-14 win. It is clear that MSU needs work on discipline, but has enough talent, at least on defense, to overcome some of those mistakes.

With the game out of the way and my heart rate restored to near normal levels after the game we headed out to visit Saguaro (pronounced Sa – Wah – Ro) National Park near here. The park is named for the famous giant cactus that is so connected with the old West.

We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and talked to a volunteer who suggested a short walk along the Desert Ecology Trail about half way around an 8-mile driving loop in the park. We needed a short walk because temperatures rose to 100 today in the valley. But it’s a dry heat.

We stopped at all the various view stops on the driving loop and again were struck by the incredible beauty that the Southwest offers.

At the Desert Ecology Trail we spent about 30 minutes walking the level trail and enjoyed the various markers explaining the incredible adaptations that nature has required of plants and animals in the desert.

(After this entry, scroll down and see additional photos of the Saguaro National Park)

Again, we used our new federal senior park pass and were able to tour the park for free.

After our park tour we headed to Frye’s, the local grocery store, to pick up a few things for our last few days on the road. Joan does a good job of planning our meals and holding down any food waste. Because we are leaving the trailer in storage in Amarillo, Texas, we will need to clean out the refrigerator of everything before we drop the trailer.

Once back at the trailer we had hamburgers, sweet corn, mashed potatoes and salad for dinner. We are now out of mashed potatoes, sweet corn and I hope, salad.

It is clear that the snowbirds are slowly filling up the park as more and more folks have checked in during the past few days.