Scenes of the Old West
Besides the natural and enhaced water ‘tanks’ scattered around the Refuge, US Fish & Wildlife has drilled several water wells, equipped with working windmills to pump water into the nearby concrete basins for wildlife to utilize. We also utilized the water, scooping out buckets full to water the dog, wash up and resupply our solar shower. This windmill is just shy of 1/2 mile from our campsite.
We named this the “Welcoming Saguaro” because of the outstretched arms as well as the fact that it’s located near the entrance to the former campground. This area was definitely an established campground at one time by evidence of roads, curbs, concrete pads (for I expect picnic tables and lantern posts) and a dump station that is thoroughly sealed off. We did an online search for information or pictures of the old campground but all we could find was a Congressional Report from 1974 that proposed converting part of the Kofa Wildlife Refuge into Wilderness Area. Or maybe it just got too expensive for US Fish & Wildlife to maintain!
This saguaro outgrew it’s nurse tree, but it appears to still be hugged by it!