Saguaro

From Wikipedia – Split into the separate Rincon Mountain and Tucson Mountain districts, this park is evidence that the dry Sonoran Desert is still home to a great variety of life spanning six biotic communities. Beyond the namesake giant saguaro cacti, there are barrel cacti, chollas, and prickly pears, as well as lesser long-nosed bats, spotted owls, and javelinas.

Established: 10/14/1994
Annual Visitors: 957,405
Size: 91,716 acres

Saguaro National Park – November 9, 2020 – Park #27 on this trip

Before we stopped at the hotel for the night, we stopped for lunch at a local watering hole called the Arena Bar in Benson, AZ. They host rodeos, have a laid-back local bar and when we were there we realized they were only serving a couple appetizer items, not lunch food so we ordered nachos and two Coronas and had a great time hanging out on an outdoor picnic table with Rangeley. We could imagine the hoot-N-hollering audiences when a rodeo was taking place in the arena beside us.

Last night we had fun dodging javelina! The wild boar looking animals are actually in the peccary family. We spotted two at the picnic area behind the McDonald’s by our hotel. See pictures. As we got closer to the Comfort Inn, one ran across the driveway right in front of us. Javelina do not have great eye sight but they do smell well…and they smell! Since there was a strong odor coming from our right and javelina usually travel in groups of roughly 10, we were cautious thinking there might be more coming. We had Rangeley on lead with us. They are herbivores but can be aggressive it threatened and we knew Rangeley would want to play if they came toward us : ) We didn’t see any more and made it safely back to our room. It was a fun and random encounter.

Sunrise at our hotel in Alamogordo,NM
Just south of White Sands National Park on US 70.
Best restroom sign ever!
Passing another 1850’s stagecoach stop, between Alamogordo, NM and Benson, AZ
Our home state after 9 weeks on the road!
Arena Bar and rodeo grounds, Benson, AZ
Notice the 2 javelina, one is just behind the tree, the other is walking away between the tree and picnic table.
The local of the 1850’s Butterfield Station, next door to our hotel in Benson, AZ.

We were staying right next to yet another 1850’s Butterfield Station. We love experiencing the 2,800-mile St Louis to San Francisco stagecoach mail route. This made us contemplate how many products move around America today in semi-tractor trailer trucks and trains – not stagecoaches : ) Across the street was a Love’s Truck stop and Gary noticed, on his early AM walk with Rangeley, roughly 100 semis were over there. They were resting up to continue their deliveries, getting gas and fueling up themselves before continuing to bring merchandise to us all, all over the US. We have seen many trains hauling hundreds of rail cars and thousands of semis on the road these last couple months. They all deserve to be recognized for the job they do…everything we use, eat and enjoy comes via road or rail. When you are on the road and you are slowed down or annoyed in some way by these large vehicles, remember that they are driving your products to you!

We entered Saguaro National Park through the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center. Their gift shop was open to go inside and I was able to get our very last post card, pin and park map of this 27-park adventure. We feel ready to go home but are sad that our fabulous road trip has come to an end. Gary wants to be home for a week and then do all of California’s national parks! I might need a few days to consider heading out on another road trip so soon… but I am seriously thinking about it!

We drove the 8-mile Cactus Forest Loop Drive through the Sonoran Desert, in the Saguaro East Rincon Mountain District. There are two units in Saguaro NP and the west’s Tucson Mountain District, is a bit closer to us in Phoenix so we decided to do just the east side this trip. It is not connected, in any way, to the east unit. We walked the two trails that Rangeley is allowed on as this park is not very dog friendly. As in many of the parks, the wildlife, and the uniqueness of the cactus here, can create a challenge between nature and canine. Our first stop was the 1.4-mile out and back Mica View Trail. Unfortunately, the day was overcast, 40 degrees and sprinkling the whole morning. We laughed that we have traveled all over the United States and have had fabulous weather. Now, one of the very few unfavorable days – weather wise – this entire trip, is in our own state of AZ. It’s been very hot in Phoenix (90-100 degrees) lately and we only get about 6 inches of rain a year. And we finish our park tour in cold rainy weather : ) We took pictures and enjoyed the cactus that we so often take for granted. We hike in the Sonoran Desert in South Mountain Preserve in Phoenix often, but despite the inclement weather, we saw the plants and terrain of this national park in a little different light. It was our last stop on our 27 parks in a row adventure!

A saguaro (saw-whar-ro) cactus can live 150-200 years.
Saguaro without arms, yet, on left. The “ribs” of a deceased saguaro on the ground and standing on right.
Yes, that is snow on the Catalina Mountains in the background. There is a ski area on Mount Lemmon (elev. 9,157′)
Mesquites are nurse trees to young saguaros susceptible to hot sun.
On the Mica View Trail
Each Saguaro arm can take 10 years per one foot of growth! They can balance the cactus.
Another old and wise saguaro
Gary and Rangeley
Elizabeth and Rangeley enjoying the Mica View Trail
If you zoom in, and look carefully you will see the orig. saguaro’s main “trunk” was broken off (lighting?) and the arms continued to grow on both sides to continue to survive
Catalina Mountains behind a very tall, with arms, saguaro in the foreground.
Arms can grow after roughly 50 years of the cactus’ life. They can grow from any side, any time. These little stubs will be big arms in 30-50 years!
Saguaros are known as the condos of the desert. The Gila (hee-la) woodpecker makes the holes. Owls and all kinds of birds move in!
The top of this saguaro on the right could be the start of a “Crested” top where it’ll grow in a fanned out fashion instead of a single arm.
A young saguaro in the foreground.
The white tips on the saguaros are new growth, not snow : )

Sometimes called Teddy Bear Cholla cactus. Don’t let the name fool you! It has lots of protective spikes on it.
A row of Chain Fruit Cholla along the Mica View Trail with Rangeley and Gary.
Prickly Pear Cactus. In the spring these, and plenty of the cactus in the desert, bloom yellow, red and orange flowers!
Cane Cholla cactus bearing yellow fruit
A very old and proudly tall saguaro. Rincon Mountains in background.
Rincon Mountains. Zoom in to view loads of saguaros all throughout the valley!
Ocotillo (awk-ah-tea-o) plants on left. They are not cacti but have plenty of spines! Beautiful green leaves and orange flowers at the top appear in warm weather with rain.
The Palo Verde (green stick) tree;s leave are very small, seen here so the bark is green for photosynthesis.
Lots of saguaros…zoom in!
Chain Fruit Cholla with red fruit
A barrel cactus with yellow fruit on top. It will flower on the fruit in the spring.
This barrel cactus has fish hook style, flat protective spines vs. the Saguaro’s round, straight spines.
saguaro spines are straight and round. Were used by cowboys as toothpicks.
The dark plant on the left is Desert Mistletoe. It bares beautiful red berries in late December …unfortunately it is not good for this nurse tree protecting the saguaro.
A Phainopepla bird.
The all black Phainopepla has a crest like a Cockatoo!
Lovely art outside the Rincon Visitor Center
Last selfie of this 27 National Park adventure!

We pulled into the driveway of our home and Gary calculated that we had driven 9,998 miles door to door in 9 weeks. Gary joked saying he should drive around the neighborhood to round it off to 10,000! Gary cleaned the car, inside and out and we plan to return the rented Dodge Grand Caravan to the Budget at the Phoenix Airport tomorrow. We loved the van, loved staying in hotels vs an RV or camping and would do it again! Stay tuned and we will write more about other parks we visit in the future!

Our map is looking pretty good. The visitor center was closed at Congaree in South Carolina, so we are trying to order a pin. The bronze tag in the Atlantic is a BARK Ranger tag. Several of the dog friendly parks have a BARK Ranger program, which is fun for us pet owners..