Our plan for today was to go to Saquaro National Park West. From Tucson we took the Gates Pass road that has a weight limit that we didn't dare go by the other day. It is a beautiful winding mountain pass through saguaro covered hills. Since Kathy, Mary Lou and friends were going to be at Old Tucson which was virtually on our way and they had our mail, we met them in the parking lot. Old Tucson is an old western movie museum and amusement park which would be fun to go to some day but we had our minds set on the national park.
They told us where the Gilbert Ray campground was which we could have gone to with our rig but were afraid to try. We drove into and around the campground to check it out. What a beautiful place. Great views of mountains and the Sonora Desert and nice climate this time of year. I bet it is scorching in the summer, though.
The book I had suggested we stop at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum before going to the park so we would know what we were seeing when we did go, so we did. Kathy had recommended it as well. We arrived on what the docent said was the busiest day of the year as a huge group of people from Trico, an electrical company, were there. We had to park a long ways away. Once we moved away from the crowds a bit, the place was fascinating and we didn't want to leave and miss anything.
First let me say since trying to catch up I haven't been very descriptive, I LOVE THE
DESERT. The wide open spaces, the big sky and all the unusual plants are amazing. The dry heat and the lack of mosquitos and no-seeums is wonderful. This park had it all. They had an aquarium with fish both native to Arizona and the ocean as well as a hummingbird aviary and a larger bird aviary. There were plants from many different ecosystems found in Arizona and many of the animals as well. Many of the animals could be viewed both from above ground looking down on them and many could be viewed from windows in underground "caves". There were butterfly gardens, agave gardens, multiple cactus gardens with a big variety of cacti. There were javelinas, coatimundi, bobcats, fox, otters, beaver, porcupines, long horn sheep, wolves, deer, bears and more all in their natural habitats. The place was really well done and we stayed for hours
The highlight was the free flying bird show. With the audience standing between rails, they released four different kinds of raptors that would swoop from one side of the viewing area to the other just missing the heads of the spectators. It was amazing to see these birds close up and to watch them flying free. Obviously they were well trained and flew from branch to branch to get the food their trainers would put out. We saw a gray hawk, a barn owl, several amazingly fast flying peregrine falcons and four Harris hawks that hunt in groups with an alpha female as the head of the group. All were beautiful birds. We were hot and tired by the time the show was over so we bypassed the reptiles and amphibians and went back to the car and on to the national park.
We arrived at the park just in time to see the three o'clock film at the Red Hill Visitors Center and then took the scenic Bajada Loop Drive. The drive is about five miles long on a graded dirt road. There were thousands of tall saguaros all around us and I kept snapping pictures much to Ted's dismay as he is usually the one to pick out what goes into the blog. We stopped a couple of times for photo ops but were so tired after walking in the sun all day that we didn't do the hikes I had planned to do. Kathy had recommended we do the short hike to Signal Hill where there is a pile of petroglyph covered rocks but we just didn't have the energy. We will probably have to go back at some point. It wouldn't hurt my feelings. While in that parking lot, we saw a stone picnic shelter that looked like one the CCC would have built back in the thirties.
We drove Gates Pass on the way back and stopped at a couple of lookout points. At one there was bathrooms built by the CCC and high up on the side of the mountain, a little cabin which must have had a tremendous view. The spectacular view from where we were was just fine. The mountains around the pass form another large caldera similar to the one at Bandelier National Monument.
They told us where the Gilbert Ray campground was which we could have gone to with our rig but were afraid to try. We drove into and around the campground to check it out. What a beautiful place. Great views of mountains and the Sonora Desert and nice climate this time of year. I bet it is scorching in the summer, though.
The book I had suggested we stop at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum before going to the park so we would know what we were seeing when we did go, so we did. Kathy had recommended it as well. We arrived on what the docent said was the busiest day of the year as a huge group of people from Trico, an electrical company, were there. We had to park a long ways away. Once we moved away from the crowds a bit, the place was fascinating and we didn't want to leave and miss anything.
First let me say since trying to catch up I haven't been very descriptive, I LOVE THE
DESERT. The wide open spaces, the big sky and all the unusual plants are amazing. The dry heat and the lack of mosquitos and no-seeums is wonderful. This park had it all. They had an aquarium with fish both native to Arizona and the ocean as well as a hummingbird aviary and a larger bird aviary. There were plants from many different ecosystems found in Arizona and many of the animals as well. Many of the animals could be viewed both from above ground looking down on them and many could be viewed from windows in underground "caves". There were butterfly gardens, agave gardens, multiple cactus gardens with a big variety of cacti. There were javelinas, coatimundi, bobcats, fox, otters, beaver, porcupines, long horn sheep, wolves, deer, bears and more all in their natural habitats. The place was really well done and we stayed for hours
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| Organ Pipe Cactus |
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| Cactus Garden |
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| Inside an Aviary |
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| 3 - 5 - 10 and 15 Year Old Saguaro Cactus |
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| No Problem for Long Horn Sheep |
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| More Interesting Cacti |
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| A Boojum |
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| In the Shadows |
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| Edge of the Trail |
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| Rebar Sculpture |
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| 1.25" Diameter Rebar Hand Rail |
The highlight was the free flying bird show. With the audience standing between rails, they released four different kinds of raptors that would swoop from one side of the viewing area to the other just missing the heads of the spectators. It was amazing to see these birds close up and to watch them flying free. Obviously they were well trained and flew from branch to branch to get the food their trainers would put out. We saw a gray hawk, a barn owl, several amazingly fast flying peregrine falcons and four Harris hawks that hunt in groups with an alpha female as the head of the group. All were beautiful birds. We were hot and tired by the time the show was over so we bypassed the reptiles and amphibians and went back to the car and on to the national park.
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| Grey Hawk |
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| Barn Owl |
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| Harris Hawk |
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| Harris Hawks Hunt in Groups |
We arrived at the park just in time to see the three o'clock film at the Red Hill Visitors Center and then took the scenic Bajada Loop Drive. The drive is about five miles long on a graded dirt road. There were thousands of tall saguaros all around us and I kept snapping pictures much to Ted's dismay as he is usually the one to pick out what goes into the blog. We stopped a couple of times for photo ops but were so tired after walking in the sun all day that we didn't do the hikes I had planned to do. Kathy had recommended we do the short hike to Signal Hill where there is a pile of petroglyph covered rocks but we just didn't have the energy. We will probably have to go back at some point. It wouldn't hurt my feelings. While in that parking lot, we saw a stone picnic shelter that looked like one the CCC would have built back in the thirties.
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| Petroglyphs on Rocks |
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| CCC Built Pit Toilets |
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| The Saguaro Gates |
We drove Gates Pass on the way back and stopped at a couple of lookout points. At one there was bathrooms built by the CCC and high up on the side of the mountain, a little cabin which must have had a tremendous view. The spectacular view from where we were was just fine. The mountains around the pass form another large caldera similar to the one at Bandelier National Monument.
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| Overlook on Gates Pass |
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| CCC Structures Stand the Test of Time |
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| Small CCC Building Way Up High |
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| Looking Out Over Tucson |
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