52. That is the number of Sunflower species in the United States. Who knew? Even with my flower chasing hobby, I was unaware of the incredible variety within the Sunflower genus. We observed and admired these happy and bright flowers throughout Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas—all the states through which we traveled. I see them now, out of Vanda’s passenger window, as I write this blog from somewhere in rural Arkansas. Some Sunflowers grow low to the ground, some grow taller on thin stalks, and all Sunflowers are happy. Their bright yellow petals look happy, they bring a sense of happy to the beholder, and they surely keep the pollinators happy. Until this particular vanlife trip, the abundance of Sunflowers was unknown to me – they grow along highways, in ditches, on median strips, and along every forest trail on which we hiked. Gone now is my vision of the ornamental sunflower—its huge head on a thick, tall stalk—having been replaced with the more delicate varieties we saw on our travels.
Also abundant throughout the desert and the mountains were varieties of Aster. My familiarity is with the New England Aster which is a late summer bloomer in my own yard. Plentiful, this hardy flower is an important host to late summer and fall pollinators, with its delicate deep purple to white petals. We admired them on every hiking trail as well as along the road.
I wanted to write a summary, per se, of this incredible 3.5-week trip through the Southwest, but there really is too much about which to write. Every day was spectacular, every hike was stunning, every flower, every bird, every critter was rich and delightful. This post is not meant to be about flowers, which is just one of the reasons we travel. I must also write about the spiders! What a treat it was to witness the marvel of a big ol’ hairy Tarantula in its native environment—a new sighting for me—as well as the Rabid Wolf Spider.
As well, there were the marvelous birds we saw, many of them “lifers” for us (first time viewing) and some old favorites.
“Sand” was added to the title of this blog post because as I have begun my routine-between-trips deep clean on Vanda, I have found fine and course grains of sand everywhere! Inside of cupboards, embedded in the floor coverings, on the dash, and basically in every nook and cranny! We had a couple of extreme wind days while we were in the desert, and given the warm temperatures which required the windows and ceiling vent being opened most of the time, we have sand. Oh My.
It is a delight to be back home, sitting in our sunroom to finish this blog post, looking out at the last of summer’s blooms, appreciating that our native garden is attractive to the two warblers who I see foraging for bugs, while savoring the aroma of the freshly baked fig bars just out of the oven. Blessings abound.
