After leaving
Chiricahua National Monument it was a short drive to
Saguaro National Park near Tucson. There are actually two “sections” to this park, East and West, and I stopped for a few hours in the East side park. There is no campground at Saguaro and I was concerned about finding a place to stay for the night. There are trails to hike but I figured I was going to get plenty of desert hiking done at Joshua Tree and Death Valley, so for me, this was a “drive-through” park, something I said I wasn't going to do...
I stopped at the Visitor Center to watch the park video and get their map and then took the driving tour on the loop road. At one stop I noticed a rather large Saguaro a short distance from the road. So with a bottle of water and the camera in hand, I walked off into the desert... perhaps 100 yards!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrf0KnX3L8jCALtpG704IZJX3UubA1LS2CNe2aD0TKCkdbDSj5k0UxXpzeKjelDMWv4HXfTMFgQQOrRDFOO6f0dUboVKRZRQ0h0ATHD4UT6U2xVLLfkKTEp1IvoYB3SilKGnp0Or8syJj/s400/saguaro-01.jpg)
Here he is. Doesn't look so tall in this picture, but he towers over everything beneath him.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRNUsNlKuaYuvesjbGoG9oAF5fUSXYLa0J0aKTdHX2Ym-eEySYzzivAt3gBD5u2MgmWtyxO9jp9DBsovXylBBFfFd03H3Wlmcwmc13U3I1VLDj8CYyq6qJK5WD6NsDVE-Z-FcCogFentN/s400/saguaro-02.jpg)
Me and “my” Saguaro.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcP5Fi6t-P1U86o6AvTkNbr7niAH_g0rfz6HXOZRaCJl1vEgnJTVNFkMr-gtqsvefsSJjMqPA4QJO9YSoRs7FWeUrYm_VRN6vt1uURG18RzeSTRleFFVcZ38X_l6EtakaC1orPYmbKvh9/s400/saguaro-03.jpg)
Now you see how tall he is? I'm 5' 6” so just guessing he is 25-30 feet tall? This was the biggest Saguaro I saw in the short time that I was in the park. Nothing else even came close to his height or his girth. Amazing. As a side note, the camera was propped up against a rock on the ground. It took four tries to get this shot. I was glad that no one else stopped in the area while I was doing this – I sure felt silly running from the camera to the Saguaro - but I am thankful for self-timers on cameras!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxdJaRMoN7QzipAYznEg4rkHFrt3lVzfUhpQeJaZaPcfouOV7NLY7WJedcrRkkmjFCZG3a_5Eo_Yuvefx8bxv3GIoven3BMBggljVfYAHjjR4q2iEPgmbPPNzRcpT9s60DiYge19LpPxb/s400/saguaro-04.jpg)
I think he had eight “arms” coming out from his main trunk. Huge.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7OYzQLAU5hkOrOzvp4t2zA79ZodIxrGv4N9V6zrR3JFt4pMttqvUpR_XEs0ihNJtsacTpW4Mx3ndKa9qoH2wjpEo7d0UnQNummi3kJDFHguWf3A-QwuomoHD80z0DkIiZFzczvfeOWz3/s400/saguaro-05.jpg)
One of his prickly neighbors.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ57OLlSPHpFrrYmGinM3fi2shCl9HM03vR4IiqA2f9lrJXZRytu2OevNnVY-Kp4lyKe8qtUsxo1LVVtkUjNBJ3JCHpLceYcwDS1YHTH15pFCK9ps9SBfi73GDAFnqm6eMXS7GajfWkQHh/s400/saguaro-06.jpg)
And another.
Photographs taken on March 15, 2010.
3 comments:
Becky - I love Saguaro National Monument! You're pictures are great! We live outside of Phoenix and have had a blast on many occassions taking pictures of ourselves by the giant Saguaros. Sometimes you have to get creative to get yourself AND a picture of the entire cactus.
Great job on that 3rd photo! WHAHHOOO.
Your self-portrait story cracked me up. I've done the same thing and felt equally silly! Doesn't it feel strange, though, to be outdoors in the wide-open space and know that you have miles of it all to yourself! Well, not to country people, I suppose, but to a suburb person like me, it does!
Anyway, you're right, from the first picture I had no idea how huge that cactus is. The third was eye-popping!
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