In June, Coati Kids and parents welcomed the "new year" with a saguaro fruit harvest. (Saguaro fruit season marks the new year in the calendar of the Sonoran Desert native people, the Tohono O'odham.)

Our group arrived to camp in late afternoon. We were amazed that in this hottest, driest time of year, saguaros are full of fruit that almost everyone in the desert eats, including people! We didn't have to fly up to them or wait for them to fall...we picked the fruit with long poles made of saguaro ribs. We caught the whole fruits in buckets, then carried them back to camp. In camp, we shucked the fruit, separating the seeds and pulp from the pods. We added water to the pulp mix, then boiled it up to make syrup. We ate it on ice cream! Not the traditional way, but it was sure good!

Then we slept beneath the stars and listened for coyotes and owls. What a beautiful night!

Check out our photo album.

Photos by Robin Kropp (except for group photo by Les, one of the dads.)

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