Saguaro National Park West and the adjacent county park, Tucson Mountains Park, are nestled just on the outskirts of the greater Tucson area. Despite that fact, the parks offer a respite from the bustling city life. To my surprise, the county park was in every measure as spectacular as the national park.

 

For the record, the national park is split in two– one on the west side of Tucson and one on the east. The eastern portion of the park is tucked up into higher elevations. I didn’t get a chance to explore this side. However, I was told the western portion provided a more unique experience. Plus, it had more developed campgrounds which was okay with me.  

 

The mountains offer a stunning backdrop for the tall, lumbering Saguaro Cacti in their infinite variety of shapes and sizes. The Saguaros seemed like sentries standing guard against all the troubles of the world. The other desert plant life played second fiddle to their more impressive cousins. But, nonetheless, they decorated the desert floor with a vast array of colors and shapes. It was an incredibly relaxing environment to experience. My planned three day stay turned into five as I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

 

Arizona skies, in particular, have provided a canvas for some of the most spectacular sunsets. One evening, they were set on outdoing themselves. Scattered rain showers passed through the area. A break in the clouds perfectly timed with the setting sun to provide 360 degrees of pure awesomeness.

 

The eerie, but warm glow was companioned with the fresh smell of rain. Low level clouds were crawling over the taller mountain peaks. A rainbow stretched across the desertscape which seemed to be fighting for attention from the radiant orange sun. Deciding to point the camera east or west proved to be a dilemma. In short time, however, the sun relinquished control of the day, the rainbow faded away, and the dark clouds began to dominate the skies. Coyotes soon serenaded you in the distance. It was 15 minutes of splendor that confirmed to me that only a Creator could have designed such as collection.

 

If you like to hike, you have plenty of trails from which to choose. Some even offer petroglyphs from the Hohokam people dating back to the 12th century. As an added bonus to the natural beauty, you occasionally got a glimpse of A10 Warthogs, along with other fighter planes, on training missions from a nearby base. So for all of you aviation nerds out there, you can kill a couple birds with one stone. 

 

These two parks should be on your bucket list of places to visit. The combination of cacti, mountains, and skies will certainly delight you. Maybe you will also be fortunate enough to experience a desert rainbow too. There is a special feel to the place for which I have not the words to describe.