Hike in Saguaro National Park

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Although the temperature was predicted to be in the triple digits today, I still wanted to explore a national park that's only about a 40 minute drive from our new home. We just decided to get an early start so we could hike before the temperatures rose too high. Saguaro National Park (pronounced Saw-WAH-row) is named for the tall cactus that can grow from 30 to 50 feet high. It's only found in the Sonoran Desert, which encompasses the bottom quarter of Arizona, the western half of Sonora, Mexico and a bit of California. It's the tallest cacti in the United States and is protected by the National Park.

Saguaro National Park is actually broken into two sections, separated by the city of Tucson. Today we decided to check out the Tucson Mountain District, which is on the west side of the city. We took a mile walk through the desert landscape up to an overlook. Rod kept an eagle eye out for rattlesnakes, since they are found in the area. We didn't see much wildlife outside of some roadrunners and small lizards. We walked through two washes and then went up a ridge that showed great views of Tucson and the Avra Valley below.

We drove around the Bajada Loop Drive. The roads around the park were unpaved. Rocky and sandy, they weren't too bad, but made me wish I still had my jeep. My CR-V did just fine, though.

After our walk to the overlook, the sun was already beating down and the temperature was close to 100. I wanted to take another small walk to check out some ancient petroglyphs. Signal Hill was an area that has over 200 Indian petroglyphs, all dating from AD 200-1450. The petroglyphs are on rocks that are scattered throughout a small hillside. They were made by the prehistoric Hohokam Indian tribe, and although some of the them are easily recognizable as animals such as deer or mountain goats, suns, and circles, no one knows what they represent.

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Photos

Beauty in Decay
A decaying cactus

Flowers in the Desert
Flowers growing out of a small cactus

Rattlesnake Area
Saguaro National Park

Cacti
Some of the different cacti on the trail

Comments

[Snowhawg]

Deer and Mountain Goats
The Hohokam probably drew the pictures in hopes of luring animals other the rattlers and lizards.

[Amy]

met you on the havasupai trip
You moved to AZ! So brave to hike in the heat lol. We aren't too far from the west park. It's so beautiful out here.

[HeatherLauren]

Hi Amy!
You'll have to tell me some of the best hikes and hidden gems out here!