This might not be the coolest time of year to visit the tallest cactus in the world, but you can’t miss it if you head to the Sonora Desert in Baja California, Mexico where, according the Guiness World Records 2007 edition, the tallest of the tall cardon (Pachycereus pringlet) measured 63 feet in April of 1995. The books also states that this height is about as tall as four giraffes.
The other massive plant is the saguaro cactus. According to the U.S. post office stamp this cactus is the tallest in the United States. One place to see saguaros in abundance is at the Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona. Even though it’s VERY hot here in the summer, as in scorching, there are guided programs by park rangers almost every weekend. This Friday you can go on the Twighlight Hike, a two hour walk that starts one hour before sunset or the Night Walk.
For a look at all sorts of desert cactus, the Cactus Garden at the Arizona -Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson has an extensive collection. This place looks stunning. It’s a zoo, a botanical gardens, gallery and natural history museum designed promote a love of nature– particularly the desert.