Since one of our first Arizona visits, our daughter has learned, DO NOT TOUCH THE CACTI. It may look "soft", but it usually is not the case. So when we drive on New Year's Day to The Saguaro National Park in Tucson, AZ and she saw all the saguaros "waving" to her, she was a little nervous, but excited. First of all, there was snow in the desert. That is fun, even though we were vacationing to get away from the snow.
However, we pulled along this dirt path in search of petroglyphs. She could barely pronounce the name. Didn't matter. We explained that they were pictures, art, that the Hohokam people drew so so so many years ago. I said art, rocks, drawings, she was excited.
The drive was bumpy, but it was nice to actually go slowly and see the saguaros. Some of them are crazy. We counted arms, some were up, some were down, some were all around. "Look at that one, look at that one', came from the back seat.
We pulled up to a parking area. First notice was how nice they had the area designed. If we had known there was a picnic area we would have packed a bag. And they had these awesome old, sturdy grills. I would have loved to cook a nice burger and sat there is the desert's glory. Next time, though. I decided to get adventurous. Let;s go, started walking and fell into a cacti. Needles galore in my pants. Lesson learned for me - and for her. Find the path with the steps first, then hike.
And so we did just that. Found the path, did some steps, rounded the bend, wound up the back of the mountain to these amazing drawings. They were truly magnificent and so gosh darn old. What did they mean? The spiral, she decided, was the sun. There were animals and stars and mountains - or so we all thought. Really adventurous day. After many pictures, looking at the mountains, the drawings, the desert, picking up rocks and throwing them, we headed back. A short walk back to the car - over some water on this cool bridge and then back to the house. Our National Parks have done it for us again. Thank you!!!!
However, we pulled along this dirt path in search of petroglyphs. She could barely pronounce the name. Didn't matter. We explained that they were pictures, art, that the Hohokam people drew so so so many years ago. I said art, rocks, drawings, she was excited.
The drive was bumpy, but it was nice to actually go slowly and see the saguaros. Some of them are crazy. We counted arms, some were up, some were down, some were all around. "Look at that one, look at that one', came from the back seat.
We pulled up to a parking area. First notice was how nice they had the area designed. If we had known there was a picnic area we would have packed a bag. And they had these awesome old, sturdy grills. I would have loved to cook a nice burger and sat there is the desert's glory. Next time, though. I decided to get adventurous. Let;s go, started walking and fell into a cacti. Needles galore in my pants. Lesson learned for me - and for her. Find the path with the steps first, then hike.
And so we did just that. Found the path, did some steps, rounded the bend, wound up the back of the mountain to these amazing drawings. They were truly magnificent and so gosh darn old. What did they mean? The spiral, she decided, was the sun. There were animals and stars and mountains - or so we all thought. Really adventurous day. After many pictures, looking at the mountains, the drawings, the desert, picking up rocks and throwing them, we headed back. A short walk back to the car - over some water on this cool bridge and then back to the house. Our National Parks have done it for us again. Thank you!!!!