Romance In The Desert: What Is Arizona’s “Kissing Cactus”?

On Valentine's Day, 1912, Arizona officially became admitted into the union. This earned the nickname "The Valentine State", and the state has done its best to uphold that nickname.

It seems that even the environment of the state is aware of Arizona's romantic history, because a cactus has popped up with a permanent reminder of love.

What is the Kissing Cactus?

Despite what popular culture may have taught us, cactuses can grow in a variety of shapes and sizes. Much like trees, their environment can contort the body, resulting in odd and sometimes uncanny shapes.

The kissing cactus is one of these, which has been contorted to look like two people embracing and sharing a kiss. The look is uncanny, even being able to vaguely tell which is the man and which is the woman.

The cactus appears to be a crested barrel cactus, with the rounder points making up the heads, and the body making up the, well, body.

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Where is the Kissing Cactus?

Unfortunately, the kissing cactus isn't going to be a standard tourist attraction. The view itself is locked behind an incredibly strenuous hike to the backside of Brown Mountain in Tucson.

The man who first saw the cactus refuses to give away its exact location, but has stated you'd need mules or an ATV to make it. He warns that it may be difficult for inexperienced hikers, likely why he refused to give away the location.

If you happen to be on brown Mountain and think you see a little too much PDA, look a little closer and you might see some of Arizona's magic.

[azcentral]