After New Mexico came Arizona and the continuation of the desert National Parks. This meant huge temperature swings, very hot days (well hot for two brits in November 79F/26C and then falling below freezing at nighttime.
Saguaro National Park
Saguaro (pronounced Suh-waa-row) lies on the outskirts of the city of Tucson, It’s two sections - an East (Rincon Mountain district) and West (Tucson Mountain district) lie roughly 33 miles apart, with the city in the middle. So it made sense to base ourselves in Tucson for two nights.
The park gets it’s name from the Saguaro Cacti - the quintessential cacti shape of a main trunk, that has sprouted arms or branches that we would have seen and drawn as kids. What we hadn't anticipated is 1) yes they really did look like this, green coloured spikey cactus in its unique shape and 2) the sheer height and size of them - the tallest has reached 75feet but they grow so slowly that it may take 70 years before the branches sprout!
We did a big hike on the East side combining a few of the favourites - Wasson Peak via Kings Canyon, Hugh Norris and Gould Mine. Although this was only 8 miles, we both really struggle hiking in the heat and were down to shorts and a t-shirt after mile 1 and the locals were still in full length tops and trousers! Never been so happy for the aircon when we returned to the car. We also completed the two scenic drives on both sides of the park - lots of pullouts, scenic vistas, picnic areas and more smaller trails with so many amazing views of this incredibly diverse landscape, cacti in every direction.
Petrified Forest National Park
We camped on both sides of our visit to Petrified Forest National Park and boy were we happy we booked electric hookups as the overnight temperatures got to -7C/20F. We were very thankful for our tiny $30 Amazon heater making it just about bearable! Getting up for a wee in the middle of the night however... not so bearable!
This park lies just off Interstate 40 and has a 28 mile scenic drive connecting the North and South entrances. On arrival they give you a map that includes the 12 must do stops/hikes/viewpoints. We managed 10 of the 12 and it was by far the best petrified trees we have seen anywhere in the US. It is so cool to learn about the remnants of these prehistoric forests, now petrified wood, that were shaped by wind and water sat in a landscape of colors that almost look like the layers have been painted on. This is also the only national park that preserves a section of route 66, a true American experience that was once upon a time a destination in itself. We really enjoyed this park but it can definitely be completed in a full day!
Antelope Canyon
Before making our way into Utah, we made the stop at Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. These are both stops we made on our first big National Park road trip in 2017 and it was nice to revisit these spectacular landscapes.
You might not know Antelope Canyon by name, but if you remember old Microsoft or iPhone Screensavers of a small canyon, this is where it would have been taken. Often referred to as slot canyons - they are long, deep and narrow so as you can imagine it is super fun twisting and turning at the base of these magnificent orange and red walls. Having the opportunity to walk into the streambed and look up at this unique geography created over water rushing through the canyon for many many years is a must-do experience.
The canyon sits on an Indian reservation, which means you can’t visit it without a guide. We opted to see the lower section of the canyon which we had loved in 2017 as our tour group was ~8people and we had the canyon to ourselves. Unfortunately our visit this time was way busier. Their was a constant stream of people entering and exiting the canyon, but the views were as good as we remembered.
We believe in this case a picture tells 1000 words so here you go...
What's next?
We had two options - one was to head slowly and leisurely back to Portland hitting the 2 remaining National Parks on our to do list... the other was to hit as many of the 'mighty 5' National Parks in Utah over a 4 day period... and of course the BischCons have chosen the latter...
留言