When we checked into the hotel on our first trip to Tucson, there was a sign with three fun facts about the city:

1. Tuscon is sunny 350 days of the year.
2. Other than the rainforest, Tucson has more species of birds than anywhere else in the world.
3. They have the largest saguaro cactus population in the world.

We found this fact easy to believe as we traveled north from Tumacacori National Historical Park to Tucson. 

As we neared the city, the iconic cactuses started popping up everywhere we looked. On the hillsides, they appeared to be as prolific as trees in other areas. But, when we arrived at Saguaro National Park, we realized that we had barely seen any of them at all.  

Saguaro National Park is in the mountains just outside of Tucson. We turned on the road into the park, and as we climbed, we saw a forest of saguaros. They were of many different shapes and sizes.  

Saguaros are slow-growing cactuses, taking eight to ten years to grow the first inch. These tiny cactuses often remain unseen as they usually grow underneath a “nurse tree,” hiding them from view. After learning about the cactuses, Chris labeled them the desert’s bullies because they rob surrounding plants of much-needed nutrients and water, causing their death. At 35 to 70 years old, depending on their environment, the cactuses start flowering and are a little over six feet tall. The beautiful arms develop between 50 and 70 years old, but possibly not until 100 years old in areas with less rain, if at all. Saguaros reach their full height of 45 feet or taller after another hundred years.  

As we drove through the park, we were in awe of how many saguaros there were. The park was gorgeous, with plenty of other cactus varieties and plant life dotted amongst the massive saguaros against the mountainous backdrop.

We next headed west toward the home of another iconic cactus, the organ pipe cactus. We stopped in the Gila Bend area for the night, finding a lovely place to camp not far off the highway but far enough to be peaceful and quiet. As we set up camp, I looked to the west to see a strange orange color on the side of the mountain there. At first, I thought it was a peculiar colored rock. A few minutes later, we discovered it was a giant, nearly full moon rising over the mountain. It was a spectacular sight.

I was much more comfortable our second night of camping and enjoyed being out in the middle of nowhere, just the two of us. We could see other campers in the area, but they were nowhere close. We woke bright and early the next morning, in time to watch the sunrise over the mountains. We soon discovered that our battery had died. The last time we had attempted to use the power box to start the car, it was dead. I was not confident it would work this time. We were pleased when it did, and we were able to continue our trip west.

We stopped for a quick breakfast, then turned south and drove off into what seemed like nowhere. The road passed through an air force range, so we went for miles and miles without seeing any evidence of life other than a fence and an occasional passing car. 

It was warm. We had the windows down with the wind blowing through and the music cranked. Watching the desert scrub fly by with the mountains off in the distance, the beautiful blue sky, and no one else to be seen, I felt like we were in a scene from a movie. It was a fantastic feeling.

After passing through the small town of Ajo, we arrived at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We continued to the Visitor Center, enjoying the many saguaros and the desert’s vegetation. We saw one saguaro that looked like a man running and one that looked like it was cradling a baby. Suddenly, I noticed another type of gorgeous cactus that we had not seen before. We had discovered the organ pipe cactus.

The beautiful cactus, we later learned, grows primarily in Mexico. The national monument is the only place in the United States where the cactus grows naturally. 

We were only five miles from the border. We found it amusing that Verizon sent us a message alerting us that we had entered Mexico and would need to get an international plan to use our phones.

We turned back north, not feeling the need to go all the way to the border. Chris pulled off the side of the road to allow me to take a few pictures. Further down the road, we saw border patrol agents in the desert on ATVs, obviously after someone. We decided stopping again might not be a good idea. We didn’t want anyone who might be hiding in the brush to think we were their contact for pickup.

As we drove north, we passed through the last border patrol checkpoint of the trip, this time just answering the routine questions before being sent on our way. After returning to the interstate, we turned east and headed for Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. I was excited to visit the ruins there. As we drove, we passed by giant saguaros. The thought occurred to me that the western settlers had passed by the exact cactuses we were now seeing. I was awed by the idea.

As we drew closer to Casa Grande, we started noticing fields of lush green plants. It had never occurred to me, until that moment, that there is an agricultural community in the desert. I never figured out what those plants were, but as we turned off the highway onto smaller roads, we saw one cotton field after another.  

In this area, the back roads were interesting, long and straight, running parallel to each other, creating squares with the cross streets. We don’t have anywhere in Virginia flat enough to see this pattern.

We arrived at Casa Grande Ruins two hours before close. It was right next to a Walmart, so we stopped there first to pick up supplies that we needed. When we got to the ruins, we found that they were closing early due to Covid, but we thought we should be able to see everything in an hour.  

We enjoyed walking around the ruins. The “Great House” in the center was fascinating. There are two holes in it that line up with the spring and fall equinoxes in March and September, another that the sunlight lines up with at sunset on the summer solstice, and another to mark the moon standing still in the sky, which only happens every 18.6 years. I found it amazing that the people who lived there 700 years ago understood our solar system’s workings so well.

As we looked inside, we could see where people had carved their names in the walls in the 1800s. Again, I was overwhelmed by a sense of being in the same place as people from so long ago.  

The remains of smaller homes and outbuildings surround the four-story “Great House.” Casa Grande was an impressive sight, and I am thrilled we took the time to visit.  

We picked a place to spend the night east of Phoenix. When we pulled off the road into the BLM (public lands) area, the first thing we noticed was a sign indicating that campfires were not allowed. We were not surprised by this, as most of Arizona was under a burn ban due to the dry conditions and recent wildfires.

As we passed the sign, we saw a camper across the road with a giant fire blazing high. We were concerned but continued down the road. We noticed several vehicles driving on the dirt road at high speed, some even passing us. There were railroad tracks right next to the road we were on. Finally, we came over the top of a hill to see a gorgeous canyon spread out before us when BAM! We heard a loud gunshot.  

There was a group of people ahead shooting skeet with a large caliber weapon. We decided to find somewhere else to spend the night. As we left, a parade of trucks raced to the area where we had just been. It was Halloween night. We think there may have been some wild partying, if not more nefarious activity, planned for the night.

We headed toward Phoenix while I looked for another place. As we drove through the city, the sky opened up in the most spectacular display of pink as the sun sank ahead of us.  

We turned onto I-17 and headed north. The road winds up and through the mountains. I was disappointed that we were driving in the dark because we couldn’t see what I’m sure was a spectacular view. We found a dispersed campground in the Coconino National Forest, but the road was closed when we got there. We had seen several pullouts beside the road where people were camping and soon found an empty, but more importantly, flat one.  

At the exit before ours, I noticed a sign for Montezuma Castle National Monument. Curious, I looked it up before we went to sleep. We had found our destination for the next day.