Have you seen the local cactus blooming in Mesquite NV yet? Mesquite is in Clark County NV, on the Arizona border, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, about 10 miles from Littlefield and Beaver Dam Arizona and 35 miles from St George, Utah. Located in the desert with elevations averaging 1800 feet and surrounded by mountains, not really the Death Valley kind of desert - more of a hilly little valley of desert terrain with bluffs and canyons - beautiful sunrises on the eastern mountains - and gorgeous sunsets on the western bluffs.
Every year, and especially after a wet winter like we just had - the cactus will suddenly bloom all at once - an amazing sight against the brown desert hills and sometimes snow topped rocky mountains.
Late March is the best time to take a drive around the Mesquite desert backroads - then walk around and catch a glimpse or take some memorable pictures of these beautiful blooms. These are photos were taken last spring when the cactus bloomed - this year should be even more plentiful!
They don't last long - by mid April, they dry up.......and you will have missed it:
Virginia,
Good picture taking! I bet the spring is beautiful in Mesquite.
Very nice... Thanks for sharing.
What a treat. We rarely have the opportunity to view these lovely blossoms.
Thanks.
Super pictures. Thanks
Living in New England, we've never been out West. Thank you for sharing the photos of the blooming cactus - they are beautiful!
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Virginia:
Those are fabulous. I had driven through that desert years ago but never had a chance to see those blossoms. Very nice photos.
Beautiful pictures - I'd love to visit the area some day.
Virginia....great photos. I've never been to the desert, but would love to one day! Hope you have a great weekend!
Thank you for the pictures Virginia. Quite different than here in New Jersey...:)
How beautiful - thanks for sharing, I have never been out there!
Absolutely Beautiful! I drive through there every year on my way to CA.
Great Pics!
Thanks for putting a smile on my face!
Ah yes . . . so beautiful. I have to get up to Mesquite soon. When people think of Nevada, they think Vegas and the glitz. But Mesquite is near and so beautiful--AND fun too! :)
Virginia,
How beautiful! Isn't wonderful how each part of the country has amazing array of nature! Thanks for sharing your corner with us.
So incredibly beautiful! I love the desert and just looking at these photos makes me feel a little warmer . . .
Virginia,
I LOVE cactus in bloom. On my 30th birthday it was pouring rain one year and my husband took me for a wonderful drive up the Snake River and showed me the cactus in bloom....I was awestruck and mystified!
Beautiful photos, Virginia. I have some of those same cactus plants in my garden right now. They are not yet in bloom, but Sacramento has been a bit colder and wet lately than Nevada. I especially like the way the cactus are growing whichever way and in whatever direction they feel like it.
OH it looks like someone needs to go take a day trip and finally go meet the very famous "Virginia Hepp!" Beautiful photos!
Let me know if you are getting those emails. They did change it all to put it on one single page again but I think you need to be about 25 with perfect vision to read the stuff. Let me know if the two page is working for you if you want me to go to the 1 page micro print!
What a nice touch of beauty. Thanks!!
Wow Virginia you have some wonderful photos on your post and you have just lit a fire under VB's rear end and I am headed out the door with cameras in hand.
Thanks for the tip and your post has found another feature at one of the "Happiest" Groups at Activerain ....
HAPPY AT ACTIVERAIN
VB ;o)
Beautiful photos, Virginia! I envy you both the Spring and the beautiful flowers. Neither has gotten here yet.
Virginia,
What vibrant color on the blooms of these desert cactus. You have some great photos ! Thanks
Eric - These are last year's pics! The cacti are just getting ready to bloom here now - with all of the rain, I am sure it will be spectacular this year.
Wayne and Linda - thanks for stopping by, glad you enjoyed them.
Lenn - the bloom season lasts about 6 weeks out in the desert areas, in town, they last longer with the daily irrigation.
Bob - you are welcome!
Bob and Richelle - it is a whole different world out here - :)
Joseph - my pleasure!
Claudette - it is about a 6 week time frame to see these colorful blooms, then they dry up.
Pam - come visit!
Rob - the desert looks so dry and uninhabited - it is really filled with life.
Catherine - yes, I have heard that you have 3 story buildings and stuff like that in New Jersey - LOL!
BarbaraJo - It is an amazing drive through the southeast.
Mike - if you drive through, during the spring, take a side road - and there they are!
Bill - wow - is that what you are smiling about? Great profile pic of you.
Candace - we do have our share of non-glitzy fun here :)
Ron and Alexandra - I have yet to see all of the 50 states - on my bucket list.
Margaret - Warm, we have that a lot here.
Lori - the desert is so stark and brown - the first time I saw these cactus blooms, I was amazed, they get me everytime.
Elizabeth - these aren't in bloom yet either - these are last year's pics, am waiting for this year's bloom - it will be even more spectacular with the wet winter we had.
Renee - working perfect - thank you so much.
Carla - thank you, glad you enjoyed them.
Vegas Bob - thank you for the Happy feature - these are not as impressive as your pictures and I love how you tell a story with yours - can't wait to see what you come up with next.
Bill - Mesquite is pretty all year, we irrigate with recycled water - the desert around gets pretty dry, but the spring months are colorful.
Mary - the blooms are even more striking in person!
Wonderful photos. On the list of places to see in this amazing country. Nice to know the "bloom schedule". Meanwile we are off to go skiing tomorrow. (It's still Winter here!)
That's gorgeous Virginia. I think the buckthorns are starting to bud up here in MN.
Beautiful photos. Some think desert and only think brown however your photos prove that it isn't.
Great pics Virginia,
Just got back from Red Rock... it's going to be a very colorful spring.
Especially in Searchlight on March 27th... ;)
Evening Virginia, Terrific pics of the rugged beauty you have. Mind sharing the technical specs on your camer/lens, etc ?
Gordon - today was a 'shorts day' but it is still winter here, too. In a couple of weeks the cactus will start their blooms, and I will be out looking - the roadrunners will be out, too!
Charles, thank you! I don't know what buckthorns are - you will have to grace one of your posts with one.
Cindy - I never knew that cactus could bloom, except for the ones in pots!
Paul - Red Rock is amazing, I have some pics of my kids there - the pics are good, but nothing like the actual experience. You will be at Searchlight?
Bill - Rob Lenthe is a professional photographer and does real estate virtual tours, among other things. He took that 4th pic above of the cactus in bloom - it was right on a main street in Mesquite and is on the cover of several Mesquite magazines. Rob set my camera for me for general daytime photography - I have no clue what the settings are or what he did on my Canon Power Shot - I am a point and shooter, then I use a program to edit them. I also have a Kodak V705 that I bought on the advice of Frank Llosa - also a point and shoot camera - with dual lenses, it takes amazing indoor shots, extra wide, and works really well in bad lighting. These two guys have saved me, I am not a good photographer - I take about 50 shots for every one that comes out good!
Hi Virgina -- How magical, powerful, etc. Being from the industrial midwest who has only been to the sw once -- saw the red rocks in az, etc., what a national treasure all these wide-open spaces. To see color in these dramatic landscapes is quite a stark contrast, and makes it even that much more powerful.
What a way to wake up to my Sunday morning. All smile here those pictures are sooo beautiful...
Thank you so much for sharing them:) Have a wonderful Sunday!
Virginia,
You have captured the beauty of the desert! Very nice.
Virginia,
These are absolutely beautiful photos! Being new to desert living, I was literally blown away by the beautiful cactus blossoms. I can't wait for this years' blossoms!
Lila
Very nice photos! Thank you for sharing!
Your vegetation is so different from ours here in FL; I wish I could spend a day in your area photographing to my heart's content. Your pictures are beautiful and I like the tree in #3 also.
Chris - the contrasts in mountain desert areas are amazing - one of my favorite pics, on another post is of the brown desert, behind it the red bluffs, then the mountains, with a snowstorm on top.
Barbara - glad I got to make someone smile today.
Someone - thank you.
Leeza - my pleasure.
Marlene - Florida has a beauty of it's own - I would love to see a beach!
Virginia,
Overnight me some to enjoy here in NC - or better yet, deliver some in person!
Hey Virginia! Hope you're doing well! I'm wondering if your ears have been burning ALOT lately?! I've told several AR members to follow your lead as you ARE the master of SOI and everyone is always impressed! You're a celebrity and probably didn't even know it! LOL
Great post and the red flowers look as though there are hot spots across the dessert! And the little purple flower looks like the crocuses we have here.
Have a wonderful weekend...
Hi Nellie - one day we will get together - maybe we will sneak up on Annie and take her to lunch. :)
Debe, yes - I heard you were talking about me behind my back. LOL The cactus pics are fun - so nice and cheerful in between the real estate posts about foreclosures and short sales and the time it takes to get a loan - all the regular stuff we talk about everyday.
LOL--you KNOW it's ALWAYS good when I'm talking about you!
Virginia and Debe together again!
I am oneof those people Debe told about you. And she's right -- I have made some major changes already, and I can already see a difference in my placement on Google.
.. and those pics are STUNNING! It was so freakin' cold here today (41) after a georgeous yesterday (68) that I want to move there. =)
Aaron, LOL - Virginia and Debe and Aaron, together again.
You write such entertaining comments - like Debe.
I noticed the changes, it takes awhile to be fully effective, good job on it.
Let me know when you want to move here, I know a good buyer's agent. :)
Flowers are so beautiful. Very rocky and that's a good place for trekking.
-manny
mountain homes in virginia
Thank you Manny - I see you are from the state that was named after me. :)
Virginia - I love the desert in the spring, and the flowers are amazing. Great images you captured!
Those photos hooked me in Virginia. I've never been to Nevada but after just seeing the first picture you had me. I will have to come and visit.