We were wondering where baby Saguaro cacti come from.  If you look real close you can see a small Saguaro cactus right near the base of the other bush.  This one is probably less than 15 inches tall.

Years ago I was told that baby Saguaro cacti really are just Barrel cacti.  I believed this until just a week ago!  And then, on this trail, I came across these two cacti.  The one on the left is a Barrel and the one on the right is a Saguaro.  They are both about the same height but clearly different.

Notice the little tree growing out of the tip of this rock.

Sometimes it's hard to see just how large these cacti are.  So here's a picture of my dad standing at the base of one.  The other picture is me standing at the base of the same cactus.

This is the end of the Spring Valley Trail.  It ends here in a wash.  We stayed here for about 15 minutes and relaxed before beginning the tedious trek back up the hill.

These two Saguaro cacti are even smaller than the one I previously showed.

Two Barrel cacti growing in a rock.

That's it for the pictures.  We hiked out and were very glad to get to the end of the trail. It was just about noon and it was very hot out.  Overall the trip was fun.  But next time we'll start a lot earlier!