Saguaro National Park

February 20 - March 7, 2019

Blog Highlights:

Saguaro National Park
Sunsets
Sonoran-Arizona Desert Museum

1. Saguaro National Park

Why two pictures with the national park sign, you ask?
Well…because the park is split in half (east vs west). Below is our high-level representation of what you can expect from each side of the park. Both sides of the park are beautiful. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, we suggest exploring both sides. If you are pressed for time and have a vehicle that can travel on a dirt road, we recommend the West side. Either way, getting out amongst the cacti is an amazing experience and brings to focus the diversity of live that exists in the desert. There is more varieties of cacti and flowers than we expected!

West: We found the west side of the park to have a higher density of cacti and more rugged trails. Part of the drive through the park is a dirt road, which deters some visitors. However, we saw a number of cars and vans along the way and didn’t think the road was rough (but yes, we recognize we are a bit biased from being in a Jeep). This portion of the park felt more intimate to us, as we felt more connected to our surroundings when hiking on the dirt trails. There are also some amazing places to view the sunset. We were fortunate enough to catch two beautiful sunsets on this side of the park.

East: The east side of the park feels more refined and pedestrian friendly. Many of the trails are paved and fairly wide, allowing for easy access and larger volumes of people. There seemed to be less diversity of cacti, but perhaps we felt that way because we did not fully explore many of the trails. We did, however, hike a ways up a trail for a nice perch to view another gorgeous sunset.

Getting out amongst the cacti on the trails was so much fun!

Dirt road on the west side of the park. See…it’s not that bad.

This sign was just too funny not to include. Beware of rubble when biking through the park.

You can get a good feel for how old and tall the cacti are when driving. However, it becomes even more apparent when you wander among them.

This cactus attacks people as they pass through. Okay…maybe not, but that is how we imagined it.

A number of cacti look like monsters, with branches alternating in various directions.

The rare Crested Saguaro! — The rare **Crested Saguaro**!

Scotty was very excited to spot a Crested Saguaro on our adventure, as he had read about their unique nature and was eager to find one.Cristate or “crested” saguaros form when the cells in the growing stem begin to divide outward, rather than in the… — Scotty was very excited to spot a Crested Saguaro on our adventure, as he had read about their unique nature and was eager to find one.
Cristate or “crested” saguaros form when the cells in the growing stem begin to divide outward, rather than in the circular pattern of a normal cactus. This is an unusual mutation which results in the growth of a large fan-shaped crest at the growing tip of a saguaro’s main stem or arms.
Although crested saguaro are rare, they are not as rare as originally believed. There have been 27 documented on the East side of the park and 30 on the West side.
Maybe you’ll spot one on your adventure!

A few petroglyphs can be found in the park.

Scotty Macro Photography

When Scotty is not photographing insects, he is up close and personal with plants. He LOVES his macro photography!

2. Sunsets (in Saguaro National Park)

Above are a couple of pictures from the trail on our quests for beautiful sunset views. We went to three different locations, each with a unique feel and beautiful skies!