Two Parks in Tucson

For those of you who do not already know (*I did not*); Saguaro National Park is actually broken up into two separate regions. The first is Tucson Mountain District (West of Tucson) and then the second is the Rincon Mountain District (East of Tucson). Both parks have their own Visitor Centers, picnic areas, nature discovery trails, hiking tails, and scenic drives. Both parks were also worked on by the Civilian Conservation Corps (The CCC) during the years of the Great Depression. There were plenty of remaining stone built structures in each park that were put there to aid in the natural retention of the area and the enjoyment and ease of the parks' many visitors. (See a section below for more photos of these structures - I thought they were incredibly interesting)

DAY 1

I started my two day adventure with the Tucson Mountain District for no other reason than it was less of a drive from Phoenix than the Rincon District was. This West Side portion of the park while smaller; is the more popular of the two due to it having more Saguaro heavy views. This disctric, I learned is also known for having some prehistoric rock carvings created by the Hohokam people. See one of the larger petroglyphs found at Signal Hill below to the left.

My adventure started with a quick trip to the visitor center (had to collect my pin and magnet before closing time). While here I also caught a small informational movie put on by the NPS about the history of the area and the peoples that lived here. I do strongly recommend watching if you have 15minutes to spare - it was very interesting! I then proceeded toward the Bajada Scenic Drive as thats where most trailheads and overlooks were located. I did make a pit stop at the Desert Nature Discovery Trail for brief introduction to local fauna.

My stops on the Scenic Drive included: The Sus (a picnic area where I was first introduced to the workings of The CCC), Ez-Kim-In-Zin (another picnic area and trailhead), and Signal Hill where the trailhead to the Petroglyphs was located. I had intended to stop at the Valley View trailhead for a hike as well but parking was full so I continued on.

Another large attraction in this area is Gates Pass. A local Scenic Drive (you'll learn I absolutely love a scenic drive) that takes you through the crest of the Tucson Moutanins. There are plenty of pullouts, overlooks, and trailheads off of this route as well - all of which I stopped at. One of these is where I decided to climb around and settle in for sunset.

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DAY 2

My second day in Tucson had me venturing to the Rincon Mountain District. A mere hour through the city of Tucson and the landscape is entirely different than its other half. With the mountains now providing a beautiful backdrop the the Saguaros and other popular desert fauna - it made the photography here easy and stunning . I also started my day here with the Visitor Center and then proceeded to make my way to the Cactus Forest Drive. My stops included an elongated hike of the Mica View - Cholla - Cactus Forest Loop Trail. A simple and flat trail that I made longer by taking another loop off the loop - but the views were just so worth it!

Upon continuing on down the Cactus Forest Loop I stopped at various overlooks and rocky outcroppings. I even stopped in the middle of the road and got out to get just the right angle and just the right shots. I also stopped at the Javelina Rocks - which might have just been one of my favorite stops on the trip. It was a grouping of large rocks (where Javelinas are often spotted *I had no such luck*).

Enjoy a larger gallery of some of my favorite shots. I took over 500 photos between these two days so I do not apologize for posting ALL my favorites. Peep the shot with me and little cactus; I learned that Saguaros can live up to 200yrs, grow up to 60ft tall, and hold over 1,000 gallons of water within its pulp. At 3ft tall a cactus is anywhere from 25-30yrs old. So the little guy in the photo with me is about the same age as me!

*Disclaimer some of these will also be seen in the Gallery potion of the blog within the "Arizona" reel!