After thoroughly enjoying (and educating) ourselves at Saguaro National Park East for three days, it was time to move to Tucson’s west side to see the mountains over there. On the drive away from our Ironwood National Monument home, we came across a ground squirrel enclave. We also spotted a coyote on the side of … Read More →
After all the educational programs at the Saguaro National Park were finished on our first day, we prepared to leave the Visitor Center. First we needed to find a place to stay for the evening. We purchased a National Geographic map of the area, which showed BLM land, and inquired about boondocking possibilities at the … Read More →
In his search for things to do around Tucson, John learned of the Saguaro National Park. In case you didn’t know (and I assume many of you don’t, because I didn’t), saguaro is the giant cactus that is symbolic of Arizona, usually depicted with two opposite and only slightly asymmetric arms. Saguaro is pronounced Sa-WAH-ro; … Read More →
We left Oliver Lee Memorial State Park to drive west. On this drive we crossed both the continental divide and the state line, entering Arizona, and even into a different desert, leaving the Chihauhaun for the Sonoran. Arizona is a much-awaited destination on this trip; we have now entered seasonal snowbird territory, so we expect to meet … Read More →
Whitesands National Monument only offers camping for backpackers, and we wanted to sleep indoors during the cold spell, so we needed to find another place to camp. John found a great state campground about a half-hour drive away, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. The park is nestled at the foot of the Sacramento Mountains, with a … Read More →
New Mexico offers some truly otherworldly experiences; it’s no wonder UFO and alien theories abound in the area (we thought about visiting Roswell to learn about UFOs, but ultimately decided not to take the time). I previously told you about touring Carlsbad Caverns, which makes me feel like I am in a sci-fi castle, now … Read More →
Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico has two discontiguous regions; we camped in the Guadalupe Ranger District section before our visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and after leaving the park we drove through the other section, which covers the Sacramento Mountain range. On our way through the mountains we stopped at a farm market … Read More →
Day 3 Hiking down from the campground was a little treacherous on the icy snow, but we made it with no incidents. We took a long break at the Pine Springs campground before continuing what we thought was going to be a very tough hike. We had planned on going back up the other side … Read More →
Day 2 In the morning we had a surprise visitor – a mule deer came to the entrance of our campsite and stood there for about 20 minutes enjoying something tasty on the side of the path. Every now and again she would lift her head and look over to see us looking at her, … Read More →
Introduction Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in Texas, just south of the New Mexico border. Most visitors enter from the Texas side at the Pine Springs campground to hike the eight mile round trip to Texas’ highest peak and back. From our resting spot in Lincoln National Forest we were closer to the northern entrance … Read More →