Day 3 - Saguaros and Things - April 25 2018

Day 3 – April 25, 2018

The first task this morning was to make sure the snake was gone from the shower/restroom. The front desk attendant assured me that the snake wrangler they had on retainer had cleared the area late last night. The second order of business was for Karen to get on the phone to AT&T to upgrade our cellular data plan. It looks like we’ll rarely have access to wi fi on this trip, so we’ll be using our phones as hot spots to help upload info, etc. After an hour on the phone with customer service, we were good to go.

We headed toward the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park. To get there, we went right through the middle of Tucson – lots of traffic on Broadway. Once we cleared the city, we climbed into the foothills. The Cactus Forest Loop Drive is a one-way paved road that winds about 8 miles through some beautiful desert landscape. The prickly pear, ocotillo, staghorn cholla, gold poppy, palo verde, mesquite and ironwood were all in colorful bloom with colors ranging from bright yellow to deep red and everything in between.

Then, we drove about an hour back to the northwest to get to the Tucson Mountain District of the Saguaro National Park. Gates Pass Road is a very scenic, steep and winding road that starts down in Tucson and goes through a dense Saguaro Cactus forest on the way toward the park. Just before we got to the visitor center, we took a short side trip to visit ‘Old Tucson’. Apparently, this has been the site of well over a hundred western-themed films dating back to the 1940’s. Today, it looks a little like Knott’s Berry Farm (without the thrill rides) with its old west vibe and its high admission price (we did not go in).

The Bajada Scenic Loop is a one-way dirt road that climbs through a very dense forest of Saguaro Cactus. We noticed that the cactus here had many more ‘arms’ than the ones over in the eastern district. The ranger at the visitor center told us this was due to the temperature difference between the two districts. On this side of the park, the Saguaro were showing early signs of their soft white summer blossoms. 

Karen took over the driving duties on this road and showed some good dirt road skills. The highlight of this loop was the petro glyphs at Signal Hill.

Going back down Gates Pass Road, we pulled over when we saw some unnaturally bright flowers on prickly pear cactus planted in someone’s front yard. The homeowner happened to be out there when I went up to snap a couple of photos. I asked him how he managed to get such large bright flowers on his cactus. He tapped me on the shoulder, and with a wry smile he said, “I buy silk flowers”! We both had a laugh and he seemed genuinely appreciative of the fact that I’d taken a moment to stop and have a closer look.

On the way back to camp, we stopped at the Pinal Air Park to check out the mothballed airliners that are stored at this facility. The air field is a short drive from the I-10 and has the semi-abandoned look of a former secret government facility you’d see on an old episode of the X-Files. We couldn’t get a clear view of the many jets parked there, but we did get a feel for the place.

Next up:  Kartchner Caverns State Park.