Blogs from Saguaro National Park, Arizona, United States, North America

From Las Vegas, we drove south to Saguaro National Park, outside Tucson. “This is where the icon of arid America holds court. The country’s largest cacti, the saguaro (pronounced sa-WAH-ro), grow slowly, achieving arms and full stature at around 125 years. Some extend to 50 feet tall” (Moon, USA National Parks - The Complete Guide to all 59 Parks, Becky Lomax, 2018, p. 290). The saguaros take about 15 years to grow only a foot in height, 50 years to grow 7 feet, and “almost a century before they begin to take on their many-armed appearance” (Lonely Planet, USA, 2018, p. 869). Some of the arms grow at strange angles, and many had blooming flowers growing at the tips of the arms. The flowers eventually turn into red fruit that Native Americans use for food (if ... read more

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 ... read more

Anne and I traveled to Arizona on the 1st of November, 2011, returning on the 8th. We visited Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Ajo, Saguaro National Park in and around Tucson, Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Meteor Crater near Winslow, and Lost Dutchman State Park in the Superstition Mts near Phoenix. We flew into Phoenix and drove to Ajo for our first two nights then to Tucson for the next two then to Holbrook where we stayed in a WigWam one night and planned another there at a chain motel. However that second day in Holbrook had snow and freezing temps forcast so we toured Meteor Crater in the AM and then drove on back to Phoenix where we spent the last two nights of the trip. On this entry I'll add a bunch ... read more

This morning we drove to a restaurant called the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We didn't know the chain had moved this far west! Then we followed the same dirt road into the park that we had found on the map yesterday. We were early enough to see lots of wide open, beautiful blooms! We looked for cactus "ribs" and "boots". No luck on the boots, but we found plenty of ribs. The Saguaro actually has a woody support about three inches in from the skin. When they die, the woody parts are long and thin and look like ribs. The boot is so interesting. When the woodpeckers make a hole inside the cactus, it goes in and then down. The cactus adds a woody layer as a type of "scar" tissue to cover over the damage ... read more

*pronounced something like "suh-wah-ro" There has been TONS of precipitation in Tucson and the surrounding areas this winter. I mean A LOT! Granted, we've only been here for 3 winters so far, but we've never seen this much rain and snow this time of year. When a friend came to visit, it gave me the perfect excuse (like I needed one!) to go to Saguaro National Park--east side here in Tucson, again. The pictures say the rest...... read more