The Barrel Cactus sometimes goes by the name “Compass Cactus” because they usually lean in a southerly direction.  They actually grow slower on the side that faces the sun causing the plant to tip slightly towards the south.

Although they are typically short, topping out at 2 to 4 feet, the can reach heights of over 10 feet.  Like most cacti, these are slow growing plants and may only be 3 inches tall when they are 4 years old.  They can live for more than 100 years. 

These hardy plants can survive long periods of drought using the water stored within them. According to “The Great Southwest Nature Factbook” one barrel cactus, which had been removed from the ground, was able to survive 6 years, using only the water stored inside it.

Can you use the water in these cacti as an emergency water source?  Experts say no.  The fluid in most cacti contains bitter alkaloids and other chemicals.  These can cause you to vomit or have diarrhea, neither of which you want to do if you are already dehydrated.

At restaurants, county fairs, and roadside stands you can buy a Navajo Taco throughout the west. It consists of fry bread topped with things like hamburger meat, cheese, tomatoes, onions, etc. This was probably a traditional food of the Navajo Tribe right?  Not Quite.  The Navajo Taco was actually “invented” by a Greek restraunteur in Arizona in the 1960s.

In a book I wrote in 2000, Arizona Myths Fallacies and Misconceptions (still available in electronic form), I debunked the oft told “fact” that Arizona has more boats per capita than any other state.  I have heard this claim for years and you can still find it quoted on many Arizona travel and tourism websites.  I’m not sure where it originated but the myth persists.

The truth is that, based on 2004 statistics, Arizona ranks near the bottom at 43rd.  This is what you might expect for a state that has so much desert. What state have the most boats?  As you might expect, its Minnesota.  The state with the least, a surprise to say the least, the Islands of Hawaii.

The website About Phoenix updated my 2000 statistics and they can be found at:

http://phoenix.about.com/library/blboats.htm

It’s Memorial Day weekend and the forests and desert trails are buzzing with the sound of ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) an OHVs (Off Highway Vehicles).  According to Arizona state agencies, then number of ATVs/OHVs has increased 347% in the last ten years.  Twenty percent (one out of every five) adult Arizonans consider themselves an OHV users. (I’m one of them) 

Despite the fact that thousands of Arizonans enjoy these vehicles every day, they are not without their hazards.  According to ATVsafetynet.org, 52 Arizonans have died between 2005 and 2007 in ATV accidents.

In January 2009 new Arizona laws went into effect that require all ATVs to display a special tag on their license plate. The tag can be purchased online on the ADOT website.   ATVs riders also need to be aware that they need to obey the following regulations, even if the ATV is not street legal and is intended to be used off-road only.

Although many people think that Arizona is just a big desert, it is home to 15,600 farms.   Are these little family farms? ….not quite. The average size of an Arizona farm is almost 1,700 acres.

Who are these farmers? More than half are Native Americans.  Most of the remainder are white.  Other minorities make up a only tiny percentage of the rest.  Arizona farmers tend to be older.  The average age is 59.

How does Arizona rank in terms of crop production compared to other states.  We are the third largest producer of vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.  Arizona is the nation’s 3rd largest lettuce producer and over 66,000 acres are used for this crop.  The State is the nation’s 9th largest producer of cotton.

In terms of livestock there are over 1,000,000 cattle on Arizona farms.  About 165,000 of Arizona farm animals are hogs and 150,000 are sheep.

The average Arizona farm has $177,000 in sales and about 500 farms have sales in excess of $500,000.

In 2006 Arizona farmers received about $101,000,000 in farms subsidies.  Twenty eight farms received subsidies in excess of $500,000 and six farms received subsidies exceeding $1,000,000 that year.  One single farm near Sacaton, received over $2,000,000 is subsidies.

Sources: USDA, Farm Subsidy Database

Given the vast amount of desert in the state one would not expect Arizona to have a large timber industry.   However, a 1984 article in the Arizona Daily Star estimated that the rate of timber cutting in Arizona between 1908 and 1983 was twice that of Oregon.  Between 1925 and 1935 Arizona led the nation in timber production.  This is despite the fact that  that the total amount of forested land is much smaller than that of other western timber producing states. Only 27% of Arizona lands is “forest.” Only a portion of these forests contain harvestable trees in areas that are accessible.

The odds of getting killed by a tornado in Arizona in any one year is is  1 in 26,630,985. That is about 7 1/2 times greater than the odds buying a Powerball ticket and winning the Jackpot.

Photo: OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory

On July 19^th, 1912 more than 16,000 small meteorites rained down on Holbrook, Arizona. One local resident ran inside, shouting, “It’s raining rocks out there!” Although most of the meteorites were small pebbles, one specimen weighed in at 14 pounds.