Cross Country Trip – Day 10

29 March 2018

It was cold this morning.  I think the temperature was around 48F.  I slept fairly warm in my sleeping bag with a blanket on top of me.  Breakfast was a bit chilly but as soon as the sun came over the mountains, it warmed up very quickly.

I set out around 8 am for the Tucson Mountain District portion of Saguaro National Park.  The park is in two sections: west of Tucson is the Tucson Mountain District and east of Tucson is the Rincon Mountain District.  I arrived at the park office one minute before they opened.

The road to get to the park passes through a city (or county) park that has interesting dips in the road.  You feel you are on a roller coaster.  Some of the dips are quite steep – similar to going down some of the steep streets in San Francisco.  You tend to hang on and hope for the best.

The visitor center is where you pay your fees.  It’s pretty much on the honor system but everyone seemed to be stopping in and paying.  My national park pass gets me in free.

I stopped on the way to the visitor center and then also as I drove their loop trail to take photos (wildflowers of course) and walked a short nature trail.  All of Tucson is in the Sonoran Desert which takes in parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and of course, Mexico.

The one thing I dearly wanted to see, I did not.  A Gila monster.  I loved teaching about it in zoology class.  I suspect it was a little too hot by the time I got into areas where it was found and it was hiding in the shade.  Maybe I’ll see one at Petrified Forest National Park – next on the agenda.

Of course, the Saguaro cactus is the star of the show.  I have to admit, they are quit impressive.  It’s also interesting to see the different patterns of growth.  They may live up to 150 years and more and are a significant part of the ecosystem – providing shelter for animals, food, and water.

Spring is beginning to sprung here and wildflowers were beginning to come out.  The colors here tend to be red and yellows and one very vivid blast of color comes from the Ocotillo cactus.

Some cacti, when they have enough water, will have the spines (which are modified leaves) leaf out.  The Ocotillo is commonly a leafy cactus.

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The red spike of flowers is very arresting when you see it against the rather drab background on the Sonoran Desert.

Another interest cactus is the Fishhook cactus.  I doubt very seriously you could use the spines as fishhooks but the name is certainly appropriate.

One cactus has a cuddly name but I wouldn’t recommend it.  The Teddy Bear Cholla (chollas are a dominant form of vegetation here with numerous species) looks cute but is lethal.

On the Rincon Mountain District side of the park, there are less saguaros but they do have an interesting area called Signal Hill that has pictographs by some of the indigenous people from centuries ago.  They were rather crude but they were etched into the rocks by using rock chisels and hammers.  No one knows what the symbols mean.

Another stop on the Rincon side was Javelina Point where javelinas tend to congregate.  I saw none but it was very touristy when I stopped so they probably were hiding in the shade along with the Gila monsters. By this time, it was 84F.

Right now I’m debating fighting traffic and having dinner in town or do a dehydrated meal here.  Tomorrow, it’s off to see the Petrified Forest!