John & Allison's Adventures Down South: Willcox to Marana, AZ

Left Willcox by 9:30am which seems to be the time we get away on "moving days". The drive to Marana only took 2 hours and the campsite was quick to get to.
You may ask, "why only a 2 hour trip to Marana instead of just another 2 more to get to Phoenix"? Well, Marana is just north of Tucson and Tucson is where the Saguaro National Park is. The park is in two parts. The older Saguaro forest on the east and the younger on the west. We weren't sure if we'd go to both but I knew I wanted to see the west for certain.
The morning after we set up camp in Marana, we set off to Saguaro, pronounced: sa wah ro, National Park West. First we stopped at the Marana Visitors Center to ask about the nicest route to take. We like to take more scenic routes whenever possible in the car as we stick to the Interstate hiways with the coach and car hauler.
The young lady at the centre gave us a local map and showed us the route that took us through the preserve and out and back in, to the park gate. Very pretty and awesome. I just love those crazy saguaro cacti. They are a big part of what sets the Sonoran desert apart from other deserts. Each one is a unique wonder!
We headed right to the Visitor centre at the park, as we have learned that is the only way to start a visit in any of the parks/monuments. You get excellent suggestions by the park staff and wonderful introductions by a video presentation.
I'm not sure if I mentioned that we decided to buy a US Nat'l Parks Pass but it's almost already paid for.
Here are the photos:

The first Saguaro sightings as we neared Tucson, AZ

Driving through the preserve via the scenic route

The road into Saguaro National Park

The short Nature Trail in the park, paved and markers with plant and animal information

A couple of outstanding specimens!

Holes made by woodpeckers and flickers become homes for many others.

An apartment complex, The Saguaro Arms.....

Looking out over the Sonoran desert

Ancient carvings chipped into rocks on Signal Hill in the park

Rock carvings

Our picnic spot on top of Signal Hill

After our picnic we decided to take one of the hiking trails from Signal Hill. A 4.8 mile loop or nearly 8km hike, as per the map. The trail wound through the desert and because it was open to horse riders as well as people, much of it was pretty loose from being horse trodden. This made it tough going at times. The trail markers were few and far between and not very visible, kind of blending in with the scenery. Good thing we always carry a map! At one point where the loop trail should have been heading back we came to a bit of a dead end with what looked like trails used by animals around. We started following one that looked more traveled only to find it disappear. We decided to head back to the original trail. If we had to follow it back, so be it. We would see it from a different angle, that's all. As we headed back down the trail there in front of us was the trail marker. We'd walked right past it. It took us back to Signal Hill before our water ran out, thank goodness.
A little Sonoran desert info. There live in this desert a formidable type of cactus called Cholla, pronounced choy ah. One particular variety is called Jumping Cholla and it gets it's name because even a light brushing past it will leave you with bits of the cactus stuck to you! The cactus also drops pieces on the ground, many of which will take root and start a new plant or get stuck on a passing animal or person and carried to a new location. John became one of those as he was walking along the path. A piece of Cholla "jumped" and stuck to his ankle. Luckily we had read about how to use a comb or stick to remove the offending plant. We both ended up carrying a small stick to remove subsequent bits from our shoes along the way....
The last but not least note on this hike, we saw a coyote and a roadrunner!! (the coyote was not chasing the roadrunner....)