Saguaro National Park- West

When we arrived in Tucson the first thing we noticed were the giant saguaros all over the sides of the mountains and hills.  We've all seen the cartoon cacti that are shaped like this but it was our first time seeing them in person. Amazingly, they can grow up to 75 feet and can live up to 250 years. They normally don't even sprout arms until they are 75 years old.

Chris next to some young saguaros

We stayed at the Desert Trails RV Park which was just a short drive to Saguaro National Park West. The park has two districts. We unfortunately never made it to the east district and only went to the west park once in our short time in Tucson.

It was a hot day in the desert even though it was early March so we waited to go later in the day and just planned a short hike.

We always have to stop and get a picture with the sign and then get our passport stamped.

Chris at the Red Hills Visitor Center

Up next we did a little of the Bajada Loop Drive.

Then we arrived at the Signal Hill Trail which was just a short 1/2 mile hike. At the highest point of the hike you reach an overlook with some petroglyphs and there are some cool views of the cacti and mountains. The petroglyphs were created by the Hohokam people over 1,000 years ago.

On the drive out of the park we were awed by a breathtaking desert sunset and moonrise. There is nothing quite like them.

It seems like we never have enough time. We would love to go back to Tucson and check out some more of the park.

Have you been? If so what were some of your favorite hikes?

Our visit to Sequoia National Park

This past Saturday we took a trip to Sequoia National Park. It just happened to be Earth Day and the last free entry weekend for National Park week. We decided to go early and beat the crowds. It kind of worked.

We are currently staying in Visalia, California and we drove into the park from Hwy 198. Once we hit the Three Rivers area it was a very scenic drive. We pulled over to get a quick picture. It really doesn't do the area justice! Hopefully we can go back before we leave next weekend.

Lake Kaweah in Three Rivers, CA

Once we arrived at the park we had to do our usual picture with the National Park sign and this time we actually had my "real" tripod. If you don't know what I am talking about you can read about it here. lol

We decided to try a new pose with the sign this time.

What do you think?

A short walk from the sign we found this beautiful view.

Some wildflowers and Mount Eisen peeking through the back

We made a quick stop at the Foothills Visitor Center to get a stamp in our National Park Passport and then continued the drive down Generals Highway.  It is a winding two lane road with lots of switch backs especially once you pass Hospital Rock. Not for the faint of heart or those who get car sick.

We stopped at a couple of overlooks and took some pictures.

View from the Eleven Range Overlook

Moro Rock

Chris working on his modeling career

Castle Rocks- on the left, not sure the one on the right

Then as soon as we saw the large sequoias we decided it was time to get out and walk around. The air was so fresh and smelled like pine.

It's so peaceful

We were going to head over to the Giant Forest Museum and then do the Big Trees Trail next but the park was getting more and more crowded so we decided it was time to make our way to the Sherman Tree Trail.

I tried to look up the park temperatures before we got there but they must have been for deeper into the park. It showed a high of 40. It was not 40. We were pretty hot in our winter clothes.

This part of the park still had some snow on the ground

The trail was just a short.4 mile hike on a paved road but it was steep on the way back and the high elevation made it a little more difficult.

Our first glimpse of General Sherman

There was a short line to get a picture but it moved fast. Everyone in line took turns helping to take pictures for each other.

Chris and I with the 2,200 year old tree which is also the largest tree (by volume) on our planet.

It was pretty amazing. Here are some other pictures we took on our hike back to the car.

I decided Chris's hair was sequoia red

Lots of mossy trees

 

Someone made this little snowman in some of the snow in the parking lot. I found it amusing.

By this point we knew we had to get back home to our pups. It was a long drive. We would love to go back sometime and stay there.

Have you been? If so what are some of your favorite hikes or things to do?