Saguaro Cactus Bloom ’25

Nov 16, 2025

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ChasOnDaFly

in Ondafly Blog

Welcome back! After seven amazing years on the road, Deb and I have established a home base in southern Arizona. We traded in our full time 40 foot motor home ( Black Pearl) for our new 21-foot Roadtrek Zion van (Mini Pearl).

Since we are not full time RV’ing any longer, we have retired “AlwaysOnTheFly,” and begin a new chapter as “OnTheFly.” Smaller, nimbler, and more efficient, our new 21-foot Roadtrek Zion will allow us to get into some of those places that were not practical with the 40-foot Super C.

Even though, this is the first year since the spring of 2018 that we’re not already on the road with a full agenda for the next six months, we would like to continue to share the adventures that lie ahead.

We have a deep passion for the Saguaro cactus. Our photos may capture the magnificence of their beauty, but you have to see one to touch their soul.

Here are a couple of links providing significant information about The Saguaro Cactus (National Park Services) and the Saguaro Flower Power Project (National Park Services)

We have spent several winters here in Tucson, yet never long enough for the saguaro bloom in the Sonoran Desert. They typically appear in late spring and early summer, from April to June, and can be found at the tops of the Sonoran giant’s stems and arms. According to local Saguaro bloom enthusiasts, this year was a banner year. The unique cascading of the blooms down and around the cacti is not a normal occurrence. So much more to learn about the variables that impact the bloom season.

It’s difficult to not share the learning experiences that accompany a trip to the desert to take pictures of cactus! We live about 11 miles from Saguaro East National Park, so we frequently visited to witness its evolution.

The bloom life cycle of the saguaro is short lived, and bloom for about one day, opening at night and closing the next afternoon. So, each daytrip was a new experience.

These are a few of the places within the Tucson area that Deb and I visited over the course of about six weeks and took the majority of the photos in the gallery that we are sharing.