Saguaro National Park West

At the very end of last year, we took a quick trip to Arizona to visit Saguaro National Park (pronounced Sa-wahr-o).  The drive took about seven hours, so it is just like our drives to Northern California.  The park is divided into two parts, and Tuscson is in the middle.  Our first stop was the west side, known as the Tucson Mountain District.  Warning: there will be A LOT of pictures of cacti from this trip!

On the 10 freeway, we passed this notable exit:

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The visitor center had nice southwest architecture that blended into the environment.  We picked up our junior ranger booklets and did not have to pay the $10 parking fee since we had k’s 4th grade pass.

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We watched the introductory movie.  It had a great ending, but I will not ruin the surprise!

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There is a loop for cars that is fairly rough and gravel-y.  However, all of the hiking trails we took were fairly level and some were paved.

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The weather was quite mild and pleasant.  I would hate to be here in the summer!

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Saguaros have so much personality.  I can see why they are often depicted as people.  It takes around fifty years for them to develop an arm!

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The junior ranger packets were no joke.  We had to finish them up that night at the hotel.

 

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There was a little elevation gain on the Valley View Overlook trail.

 

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Saguaros as far as the eye can see!

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I’m not sure why n is making faces in so many of these pictures.  He was not in a bad mood, but just not in the mood for pictures, I guess!

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Don’t get too close, D!

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Barrel Cactus

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Teddy Bear Cholla

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This trail was notable for the petroglyphs in the rocks.

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A Palo Verde, the state tree.

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I told n to pretend to look scared–ha!

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This portion of the park took us about three hours to explore.

 

 

 

 

 

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