Saguaro National Park
The latest count last year represents a roughly 7% increase from the 2010 saguaro census. But experts are worried about the low number of young saguaros that are cropping up to replace their towering elders. The region has had a drought cycle that dates to the mid-1990s and the long dry stretch appears to be impacting both reproduction and the survival rate for newly sprouted saguaros. More study is needed to understand exactly what is happening. In a few parts of the park, no new saguaros have been spotted for the past 25 years. But in others, biologists have found more young saguaros than expected.
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Spring break is just around the corner. What’s a parent to do? The kids have been locked in the house forever. But making travel plans is tricky even if California’s stay-at-home advisory eases.
Lezlie McKenzie faced the same problem last year. She wanted to plan a family vacation, but fear of COVID-19 caused pandemic paralysis: How could they see and do new things and still be safe? Her solution: a private bike tour.
Two weeks later she and husband David Mira and kids Anabel, 12, and Lucas, 14, were in Yellowstone National Park watching the Old Faithful geyser blow its top, sending 8,000 steamy gallons of water 150 feet into the bright blue Wyoming sky.