Monday, May 18, 2009

Cell Tower Cacti

Happy Cactus Monday

Huge fake saguaros have been springing up in the foothills. Not at Sabino Canyon, but along roads. They are cell phone towers disguised as cacti to blend in with the natural desert scenery.

In the photo below, the old telephone poles and wires are more noticeable than the saguaro cell tower (in the middle of the image).

I followed progress on this cell tower camouflage on Sunrise Drive for about a month. Now the structure looks more like part of the Sonoran Desert landscape.
This morning a deer walked right past the cactus impostor without giving it a second glance.
After observing construction on one stealth cell tower, I noticed a couple more phony saguaros nearby, complete with simulated woodpecker nest holes.
For comparison, below are some real saguaros at Sabino Canyon. Granted, the fake cacti do look slightly different from authentic saguaros. But I think the artificial ones succeed in making the cell towers look less obtrusive.
Here are some examples of cell towers camouflaged as trees. Perhaps you've discovered some cell towers in your area cloaked as palm trees, windmills or clock towers. Some disguises can be quite creative.

For more cactus posts, visit Cactus Monday at Teri's Painted Daisies.

29 comments:

Prospero said...

This is very interesting. But won't you be surprised when these Cacti bloom!

kesslerdee said...

Great pictures! I've seen the palm tree ones too around town. I am all for less wires and poles! Happy Cactus Monday!

Walker said...

Funny post. Amazing how they can hide them.

Pea said...

innovative ideas!enjoyed the post!

Teri said...

You found them!! I was looking for them before I left and never did. I didn't realize there were so many. Love the comparisons.

HCM!

Kevin said...

Thanks for sharing these. I was very amused when I noticed fake palm trees around Palm Springs and kept my eye out for more cell towers after that. I noticed some fake fir trees in Oregon.

There's a theme here!

deedee said...

Now I'll wonder if the cactus I take a picture of is real or is it a cell tower. How interesting!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Woooo Diane.. That's neat that they are doing that---to keep the area looking natural... Wow!!!!

Wish someone would come and make the old telephone pole in our yard look like a pretty tree... ha ha

Have a great Monday.
Hugs,
Betsy

soulbrush said...

what an interesting post, not sure if i like or dislike the fact that they use natural habitat to hide cell thingies...grrr.

studio lolo said...

Frank Lloyd Wright would have approved of the cell towers blending in with the landscape!
Great shots!
Happy cactus Monday ;)

Leslie said...

Hilarious. We always giggle about the palm tree and pine tree ones in our area because they look too perfect to blend in very well. The saguaros seem to work better!

marianne said...

Amazing! I like this!
Of course there is nothing like the real thing, but as poles they are ok. Then they are better than the real thing.

HCM!

Margaret Ann said...

Fascinating...I know just the spot where you took your photo...We have lots of the palm tree variety here in Surprise...I love the Cypress and the pines too...Amazing artwork! HCM!

Kay said...

We have cell towers that look like palm trees and pine trees.

Kay

Julie said...

We have some palm tree ones here in south florida! It is a genius idea!!!

It just started raining here...breaking a 3 month period of drought! We are dancing and singing through the house!!! YES!
Happy Cactus Monday!!!

Cathy S. said...

Of course you can out do us all living in Arizona, beautiful photo of the cactuses!
Happy Cactus Monday!

•°°• IcyBC •°°• said...

There is no disguise of any kind here in our world..They are all just a plain poles.

That was interesting post!

betchai said...

i saw some fake pines here on roads, good i was able to read about it before that they make poles now look less obtrusive, so, when my husband asked, "what on Earth is that? why would they make a fake tree?" hehehe, so I told him about the many receptor cells that kind of pole can actually handle that the old poles. here, i think they are ugly though :) but your picture of saguaro poles, they look like more real in the picture.

Phoenix C. said...

Wow! I've never heard of this before - what a good idea. I don't know if there are any fake cell-phone towers here in the UK - what would they be, I wonder?

Carol said...

I have seen some fake pine trees and a palm or two. Perhaps our cell service will be less likely to be interrupted by vandals if they dont see the real towers. But...whether it's for security or just to blend in...it's better than poles.

www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com

yoon see said...

These towers are superb, I just wonder how amazing they can be if they could reach the highest sky and also reach the heaven....shouldn't be a legend.
He..He..
Thanks, they are all very cool and inspiring!
HCM Diane:)

Fernando Pagán said...

You really take beautiful cactus pictures.

Lance said...

Ha! I didn't even realize cell towers were hidden like this! They definitely look better than just a tower. And now I'm wondering about what we have around here, if any towers are hidden within trees...

Glynis Peters said...

What a great idea, they blend in better than those posts.

Pacey said...

Great shots again. I love to see the types of cacti. BTW, I've added you now on my blog list.

David said...

Until I read your comments I thought the cell towers were really cacti.

I don't think California does that much in the guise of hiding one foundation for another--I can only think of one or two instances during my lifetime here as a native.

I got more than a few chuckles and laughs from your terminology--aptly put--as the towers being nothing more than serving as an "impostor" and as "camouflage."

Martha Z said...

I think your fake saguaros look much more realistic than the fake pines here in California.

Gaelyn said...

What a great idea to hide those towers.

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