Cacti are the downside of the desert landscape, but they can be managed (usually avoidance is the best way).

I was amused at the reference to "Saguaro National forest." There is no NF with that name. The author probably meant Saguaro National Park, near Tucson,AZ.

I dubbed Wednesday as "Festerday"because that was when the cactus spines I had acquired on a weekend hike usually could be scraped off my skin.

Prickly Pear and other cacti are not confined to the desert. The biggest patch of prickly pear I ever encountered is in Channel islands National Park, southern california.