I've been in the desert southwest for the past week.  Spent four days in Las Vegas at the Pac-12 basketball tournament...great scene!  But I've also done some outdoor rambling.  Here is the (reportedly) world's largest thermometer in Baker, CA...about 100 miles SW of Las Vegas.  It's currently not working.  In fact, except for fast food restaurants (and of course the Mad Greek) Baker is slumbering these days.  The growth of the new town of Primm, on the Nevada border, has taken away all of Baker's overnight trade and much of the food and gas commerce as well.

Red Rock Canyon Natural Area, west of Las Vegas.  Obviously named well.  It was a crystal clear day.

Stratified rocks...similar formations can be found in Zion.  The striations in the beige rock are sand deposits, laid down under different wind directions.  So they're not parallel.  Blow up the pic for more detail. 

Most flowers are not blooming yet in mid March, but the globemallow in Red Rock canyon were doing fine.

After the tournament ended I headed east.  I found this huge saguaro in Saguaro NP, near Tucson.  It's about forty feet tall.  The sun was lowering in the west, casting shadows on the cactus.

The best times for photography in nature are the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.  I'm not usually out at those times, but yesterday I was, and the light is indeed fine. 

The Lizards in their natural habitat at Saguaro NP.

The soft light of the lowering sun illuminates a cactus forest.

I took this picture from an old CCC picnic shelter in Saguaro NP.  Artistic CCC structures...and even trails...are delightful.

This prickly pear really earns its name!