Roads Less Traveled

Have you ever heard of Kris Eggle?  I’d be surprised if you have.  I hadn’t, either, until I visited Organ Pipe National Monument this year.  That’s where I saw a small plaque that, God forgive me, made my blood boil.  

Sedona is a pleasant town.  The streets are clean and the water right out of the tap is good.  There are excellent restaurants, chic shopping venues, and a host of outdoor activities to enjoy…and you can enjoy all of it throughout the year.  

I grew up around cacti.  Once, while riding my bike, I fell into a barrel cactus that adorned a corner of our house in Tempe, AZ.  This resulted in my Dad setting me down at the kitchen table and pulling dozens of the hooked barbs out of my thigh with some needle-nosed Vise-Grips.  Years later, I found a small piece of one of those needles still stuck under my skin.  By then, it was too deep to pull out with pliers, so off to the doctor we went.  You might think, given that story, that I’d have a certain amount of fear and loathing for the spiny succulents, but no: in reality, I admire them.  They’re survivors, living in crappy soil, no water, and 120+ degree days.  Anything that can survive those conditions deserves my respect.