Three Giant Saguaro cacti with blue sky and clouds

Three magnificent Giant Saguaro cacti reach for a blue sky with clouds in the Sonoran Desert printed on greeting card ready to be customized with your own text. These were photographed along the Pine Creek Loop Trail, which is in the Tonto National Forest, which is located just east of Phoenix along the Beeline Highway (Highway 87). The trailhead can be found just after mile marker 210 on the right side of the road. There's a sign for the trailhead and a small parking area there. I believe the sign says Ballantine trailhead. You can take the trail either to the left or the right. Going right is a steep climb, which becomes a gradual climb on the way back down after passing the turn off for the Ballantine Trail. I took to the trail to the left when I first went, and I wish I had gone to the right instead when I was on my way back down, as I was tired and a bit shaky going down, is I'm not in the best of shape. Next time I would prefer taking the steeper climb on the way up and going more gradual on the way down. Original photography copyright 2018 by Karen Coffelt.