Saguaro National Park - Tucson, AZ
After a long two days drive from San Antonio (blog
entry for San Antonio will come later) we
arrived in Tucson. During that drive, we really began to get the feeling
that we were nearing home. Things began to take on that familiar and
inviting look of the west. We even felt the energy change that occurs once
the western border of Texas has been crossed heading west. There is no
doubt in our minds that the western half of the United States is truly the place
where the positive energy is concentrated. We are so tuned to it like a
flock of geese who follow their senses home after a long winter. We felt
that we had returned home after our long absence.
We pulled into Beaudry RV Resort smack dab in the heart of Tucson. This
truly is the place to go to have safe comfortable surrounding in
the Tucson area. While we stood outside the registration office at the
resort, we were floored when three very good friends of ours walked up to us
unexpectedly. They were David and Patricia Baker and their dog Fancy. They just happened
to be traveling through that night on their way from Santa Barbara, CA to
Arkansas. David will be revamping the web site for Workamper.com
throughout the summer. Knowing and having seen David's past work, I am
sure he will do an amazing job of spiffing up and maintaining their web site.
We spent a wonderful evening eating dinner at a local steak joint with our sorely missed friends. We were so excited we forgot to take
pictures. That is a pretty rare for us.
The next morning Erika and I began what would turn out to be an extremely
spiritual mini-journey. We entered the Eastern Saguaro National park.
Erika could not believe her eyes at the absolute stunning beauty around here as
we wound our way into the park. This was the first time she had witnessed
the majestic saguaro. I had been here before previously and I was aware of
what transformation was about to befall upon her. I knew this would be
another life changing event for her. I was so excited to see the
wonderment in her eyes as we rounded each corner to be immersed into scene after
unbelievable scene of thousands of saguaro towering above the pristine
desert
floor.
We stopped at a trailhead, abandoned our vehicle and began to walk for miles
among the silence and solitude of the desert. We were reeling from all
that was there to be seen from desert wildflowers, dozens of different diverse
types of beautiful cacti, broad vistas, towering mountains, and exotic (to us)
wildlife. Nary a soul did we see the entire time due to the time of year
and the time of day we chose to venture into nature's gallery. We were
alone without the onslaught of incessant squawking that other humans invariably
do when they are in the wild. We had the opportunity to listen, really
listen to nature. What we heard was beautiful, inspiring, soul wrenching.
It was a
song of peace, and serenity mixed with the crescendos of the reality of the fight
for survival in a harsh environment. We sensed the ancient Indians
presence and made sure that we were mindful and respectful of nature. The
Indians believe that all their ancestors return to be as one with the earth,
that they are the earth. They say that if you litter or are disrespectful
of the land, then you are being directly disrespectful to your ancestors.
This is something we believe is of monumental importance.
The trails of East Saguaro are not of any real particular difficulty but
there are some very important things to understand. Take plenty of water
for all, have a reliable trail map and be of sufficient skill to read it, DO NOT
venture off of the trails, understand your limitations, know that the wildlife
(including plants) can be very dangerous. Besides the water part, not
venturing off the trails is most critical. This can cause massive damage
to the desert, exposes you to harsh danger from venomous animal encounters as
well as cactus needles that once easily in you from the slightest touch, do not
let go. I have experienced the cactus needles firsthand. I barely
brushed by one cactus on my leg. I could not get the needles out, had to
remove my pants right on the spot, and use all my might to pull on my jeans to
dislodge the needles with excruciating pain involved. This experience was
from a previous trip to Saguaro National Park. It has not happened again
to me since because of my newfound respect for the cactus. Also,
understand that a tiny Saguaro cactus that may be only a couple inches high is 10
years old. It is easy to not see them and snuff out this protected species
by accidentally stepping on them. The full grown Saguaros are up to 200
years old.
Erika and I saw interesting wildlife during our time in the desert. One
of the most surprising finds was a plump Gila Monster we ran across. These
creatures look like an overly fat lizard with a rounded stubby tail and rounded
stubby head. They do have venom in their saliva and they are known to not
let go once they get a hold of you. Their jaws will continually grind and
tighten onto your flesh causing severe pain. I don't mean to alarm people
about the Gila Monster as they are magnificent creatures. Just please have
respect for them. You would not want a youngster trying to pick one up.
We saw a bunch of rabbits including the HUGE Desert Hare which looked like the
size of a medium size dog with extremely long ears. Erika called them "Jackalopes"
as their long ears did look like antlers sticking out of their heads. We
also ran across a black and white King Snake sunning itself along a dirt road.
That night we closed down the park which is typical for us after experiencing
what I will describe later concerning West Saguaro National Park.
The next day was an extremely full day for us. We started out by
visiting the Arizona Sonora Desert Wildlife Museum which was located near the entrance
to West
Saguaro National Park. The Sonora Desert Wildlife museum is a magnificent zoo
which is a display of all the various creatures encountered in various parts of
the regional deserts. I remember this zoo from my childhood. It was
a treat then and it is still a treat today. This zoo will take you half a
day to see correctly and in it's entirety. Even then, this is a busy task.
Next time you are in Tucson, take it upon yourself to experience this little
treasure. Hint!!! Go REAL REAL early in the morning when they first
open to best avoid the daily invasion of bus loads of school children on a field
trip. Obviously, one of the things the teachers of today must be teaching
these grade school kids very well is how to scream and yell in public places
without disregard for those around them. Even the teachers were practicing
what they teach and were doing a good job of it. Sarcasm duly noted by you
I am sure.
After our Desert Wildlife Museum excursion, we headed over to
Old Tucson Studios
where many a Western movie has been filmed. This studio goes way back in
time and many of John Wayne's movies were filmed in part here. The
buildings of those movies still stand today except for a portion of the lot that
burned down several years ago. Most of what was lost there was the Mancato
movie set for Little House On The Prairie TV series. I was sad to hear
that as I probably would have recognized most everything from that set. As
you can imagine, with an old west movie set there is going to be old west
activities going on. This includes sporadic gun fights, old west type
stunt shows, saloon music/dancing
shows, as well as guided walking tours
describing the location of scenes of famous movies shot on the set. Erika
and I had a great time and wished we could have had more time to look around.
The Old Tucson Studios close somewhat early in the day for some inexplicable reason.
The saving grace was that the place was particularly deserted the day we went so
we were able to get around and see things quickly and unencumbered by crowds.
The admission to Tucson Studios is quite pricey so you might want to allow a
good amount of time in order to get your money's worth of sightseeing there.
Upon leaving Old Tucson Studios, we headed out the short distance to West
Saguaro National Park which is on the opposite side of Tucson
from the East
Saguaro National Park. I have to say the west park is more to my liking.
It seems to have more dramatic terrain and a higher concentration of saguaro
cactuses. We stopped by the visitor center to talk to the rangers about
the park and where the best vantage points for sunset viewing was. What
puzzled the ranger the most was that we were not concerned about looking at the
sunset. We were more concerned about looking AWAY from the sunset and
looking towards the cactuses with the sun setting on our backs. This was not something that they are used to hearing. We received excellent
information on exactly where this perfect vantage point is. Before we
dashed off to where this prized location was, we took the time to watch a video at the
visitor center about the park, the animals and the Indians associated with it.
To say this video was heart touching is an understatement. This video
spoke to us deeply as it mirrored our beliefs exactly about the reverence and
appreciation for nature. Respecting and preserving this wonderful treasure
of a park struck a strong chord with us. Erika and I, being the goofballs
that we are, cried during the movie. We can't help but be the people that
we are. We are the ultimate fans of Mother Nature.
After the film, we slowly snaked along the dirt road of the western park
until we came to our intended sunset destination. Thankfully, merciful
God, there was not another soul in sight. We climbed a trail that led up a
solitary hill higher and higher. As we looked up and to our left, we were
treated to the sight of
ancient Indian petroglyphs carved into the protruding
black rock of the hill. We knew we were in the right place. We were
mesmerized by the designs placed there many many years ago. We continued
our trek to the top of the hill and looked out upon a vast vista for a hundred
miles. The weather was absolutely perfect. We still had some time
before the event we were waiting for so we poked our noses around. What we
found was amazing. On top of that hill was many petroglyphs carved into
the jet black stone. They were all around us. We wondered at the
meaning of each one. We could tell that some were about hunting local
animals. Later we were to find out that some were the sign of fertility,
of the continuation of life. Regardless, each one was special to us and we
were excited to see them.
At last, the moment we had been waiting for had come. Erika
and I turned our backs to the
setting sun
and looked where most would not be looking. As the sun settled lower we
were treated to a most awe inspiring spectacle. What we saw were thousands upon
thousands of ancient Indian spirits appear all at once. These spirits
revealed themselves for a few fleeting minutes in order to say goodbye to the
setting sun, usher in the approaching night, to look out over the desert with a
watchful eye, and
to say goodbye to the two visitors who had made this spiritual trek to come see
them. As the spirits stood at attention and ablaze with light, I could see
them all the way up the mountain far into the distance. Suddenly,
I saw a an Indian
medicine man take flight in the form of a black raven.
He glided slowly, silently, majestically over all of the spirits blessing them as they passed
beneath his wings. The medicine man floated on the air currents back and
forth in front of us until all the spirits had received his evening blessing. Then
he did one last turn, flew by us as we sat wide eyed from the hill.
The medicine man blessed the two visitors and glided out of sight into the
setting sun. After the medicine man was gone, we turned to see the Indian
spirits disappear one by one into the evening. We said our goodbyes as the
last one drifted away into the darkness. We then watched in stunned
silence as the sun set beneath the horizon on our last day in Saguaro National
Park. One last burst of light revealed the presence of two petroglyphs
directly before us at our feet. We will never be the same.
