Upon arrival in the park, we stopped at the visitor center. I must say, the park staff at this particular National Park is by far the friendliest and most willing to help staff we have experienced. Keep in mind, this is the 7th park we have been to in 10 ten days. The park has a beautiful viewing space of the mountains and cacti, complete visitor center with educational information, and a educational garden hike near the center. Dogs are allowed on the short garden path and on the nature hike path that we walked shortly after the visitor center.
Nate and I tried some prickly pear gummies, which I was a bit hesitant of but they are wonderful! There were many prickly pear products for sale: syrup, pancake mix, gummies, suckers, jam, etc. I also tried a prickly pear margarita last night with my Mexican dinner! Yum!
We hiked the nature trail, recently paved to allow dogs. What a variety of cacti! I am still learning the difference between them all, but I think I have the basics down: agave, prickly pear, octillo, saguaro, cholla etc. The saguaros remind me of trees, mostly because they seem to be everywhere, including landscaping. In reading the signs at the park, we learned a saguaro takes 75 years to reach maturity. A flower blooms and remains that way for less than 24 hours!
The scenic drive in the park was also worth it. It takes you in a loop on a dirt road, up and down looking at the neighboring mountains. There many views of mountains up close and even more in the distance.
After exploring Saguaro NP, we drove through Tuscon to grab a beer and some street tacos at Street! Another mmm!
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