Saguaro National Park

Another convention, another new place for me to visit. This past week I headed out to Tuscon to the Dude Ranchers Association convention at Tanque Verde Ranch. I had never been to Tuscon before and was expecting the desert but I wasn't expecting the mountains all around. That was as much as I could grasp since I got off the plane with a raging fever and a constantly running nose.

By the last day of the convention I was feeling well enough to sign up for a ride but it was too windy so it was cancelled. Since I had a few hours I decided to make my way over to Saguaro National Park. The ranch abuts the park boundary but I wanted to go to the visitor center. I used the Lyft app and the poor driver had no clue where he was or what I was asking him to do as I passed him a $20 to hand to the ranger for entry. He dropped me off at the picnic area and was concerned about how I was getting back but I told him I would just walk. I set off from the picnic area to the Freeman Trail. 

Freeman Trail

It was a mile long trail out to the site of an old homestead. After making the loop, I made my way back to the main road and walked the mile and a half back to the visitor center, stopping to take pictures of cacti along the way (and avoiding the curious stares of those in vehicles).

Saguaro

The saguaros are what people think of when they think of cactus so it was neat to finally see them up close. Plus there were a bunch of others that I could ID but my favorite, that I had never seen before, was the teddy bear cactus because it looks cozy from a distance but is still a cactus.

Teddy bear cactus

The mountains in the distance were covered in snow and the sun was poking out of the clouds so it was a beautiful afternoon (albeit with a wind chill in the 40s). I checked out the visitor center quick before it closed and came away with a new puzzle that was published for the Centennial.

Sunset at the Park

I took another Lyft back to the ranch and this guy wasn't nearly as great. It had been raining on and off all week so the roads were covered in water, with some of the dips having moving water and this guy just blew through them. I was thankful to get back without incident. It was so bizarre to me that I used an app to get a ride to a National Park but hey, it worked and now I can check another one off my list!

Riding in the desert

The next day I was able to reschedule my ride. It was still chilly but the sun was out and the wind had died down. I was the only rider so they had a new wrangler leading and a girl behind me to show her the ropes. I felt like I saw many more saguaros on the ride than I did in the national park but I guess I really only walked the road in the park. I just got a new camera and I just kept it on constantly snapping pictures.

Funny looking cactus

The way the arms of the Saguaro grow makes for some interesting photo opportunities.

Action shot of deer

Towards the end of the ride the horses perked up and we realized there was a herd of mule deer making their way along the creek. They kept popping out from everywhere and running through the creek and up the hill. It was a very cool sight to see. As we turned to head back I even spotted a roadrunner. I have never seen one still before so I could finally get a picture.

Roadrunner

When I got back to the ranch, I wandered around the nature trail and spotted a cardinal that was flitting around. It was neat to see such a pop of color in the desert.

Cardinal

 I grabbed lunch before hopping in the shuttle and heading off to the airport.

Lake at the Ranch

My shuttle driver back was amazing. He used to work for the Park Service and gave me a nice lecture on the saguaros as well as tons of other local info along the way. He was quite personable and knowledgeable. The Tuscon airport was absolutely packed but when I handed my stuff to the TSA agent she said I was pre-check so I got to skip to the front of the line which was great. It went downhill in Atlandta however as tornadoes were moving through so flights were delayed and cancelled all over the place. I luckily was able to make it out but I didn't get home til 3:30 am.

Despite my sickness, I still had a great trip. I learned so much at the convention, met some of the nicest people, ate really well, rode a horse through the desert and got to see a national park.