Our 12th National Park to visit on this trip took us to Tucson, Arizona to see the Saguaro National Park. Saguaro (sa-WAH-row) is a type of cactus, and this park is all about that cactus and the environment of the Sonoran Desert.
Saguaro NP is located on both sides of Tucson, and we visited the west side which has four times as many saguaros. We learned more about the park at the Visitor Center and then went out to explore two different trails.
We enjoyed walking through the desert landscape on the Cactus Forest Loop Drive which offered the chance to see the saguaros and Sonoran Desert up close and personal along with incredible views of the Rincon Mountains.
Then we hiked the Valley View Overlook Trail to view the Avra Valley and distant mountain ranges. As we walked, we thought about what we learned from the Native Americans who contributed to the movie at the Visitor Center: “There was someone who has been here before us, and I don’t mean 2-leggeds. Before us walked the deer, bobcat, lizard, bird… They are someone also.”
This Sonoran Desert combines rugged beauty with danger in the same way a cactus is pretty from a distance but can hurt you with its needles. The saguaro cactus somewhat resembles tall people, each with arms in different positions. That’s one of the reasons why the Native Americans considered the saguaros to be their relatives, and encouraged us to look at them, with patience, quietness, and solitude, to learn more about ourselves.
We concluded our time in Tucson with a very relaxing day. In the morning we biked 12 miles of ‘The Loop’, a great paved pathway that winds throughout Tucson.
The afternoon held plenty of pool time, and a gorgeous sunset. We enjoyed Tucson.
