Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse: Research/Images

My muse is a researcher, which is a good thing because I love researching the settings for my books. One of these settings is the Sonoran Desert. I’ve grown fond of this location. Therefore, images of the area inspire me. This is where my cowboys and their heroines live from the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight™ and the spin off Canyon Junction: Hearts in love Series™.

Canyon Junction is a fictitious name for my town, and if you can picture Apache Junction, about thirty-five miles from Phoenix, you know you’re close to my town. Some of my heroines are new to the Sonoran and one of the first things they notice are these tall cacti and Superstition Mountain.

For today’s Tuesday Inspiration post, I chose to post a few photos from the Sonoran.

Do you know the Saguaro Cactus only lives in the Sonoran, but not in all parts of the Sonoran? The link above is from the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service, and it shows where the saguaro lives. Here’s another link you might like with facts about the columnar cactus types from: Cactus and Facts. At this sight, I also learned this cactus is vulnerable to poachers.

The saguaro fascinates me. They remind me of guards standing watch over the desert. I found this fact interesting about the saguaro: An adult saguaro is generally considered to be about 125 years of age. It may weigh 6 tons or more and be as tall as 50 feet. The average life span of a saguaro is probably 150 – 175 years of age. However, biologists believe that some plants may live over 200 years. Source.

Going forward, let’s begin in Tucson, Arizona where this video takes place with the night-blooming cereus Queen of the Night cactus flower, which blooms one night a year, but not every year. The video has an advertisement at the end for a fragrance inspired from this flower. No affiliation.

Saguaro National Park is in Tucson, AZ. Caulder and Velia from the Bull Rider Series met in Tucson.

Cactus in bloom.

This saguaro must weigh a lot.

Superstition with a rare dusting of snow.

Driving toward Superstition Mountain. © Phartisan | Dreamstime.com

Here’s a cool link from Ultimate Guide | Apache Trail Scenic Drive for readers familiar with the two series mentioned above. Jake, in Whispers of Forever, took his boy on a drive along the dirt section of Apache Trail. Trace bragged to Beth about the trip with his dad, but Beth told Trace a story about daredevil Jake as a teen on the Apache Trail. You might also remember the Desert Belle at Saguaro Lake where Tristan took Nora in Cowboy Boss and his Destiny. See how much fun research can be!

This is all I have for now. Wow, I’m inspired to get back to writing my next book. Who gets the next one? If you are a reader of both series, you’ve met him. Our heroine is new to the series. This hero has a bad habit of falling too fast for the women he meets. This could be why he and Zach butt heads in Finding Kimber (coming soon).

Thanks for visiting today.