Finding Serenity in Saguaro National Park

It’s easy to forget our proximity to nature. As we mindlessly drive on four-lane highways through a sea of billboards in every direction summoning us to try the latest $4.99 burger, we overlook the magic that exists beyond our daily commutes. Just beyond the rolling hills of the city of Tucson, about a thirty-minute drive, there is a vast expanse of open escape waiting for us. Saguaro National Park is a place of wonder and awe, a place where nature reminds us of her captivating presence. A place where we go to remember.

The timeless beauty of the Sonoran Desert runs through parts of Arizona, Mexico, and California. It covers over 100,000 square miles and is larger than the state of Oregon. It is the hottest and most biologically diverse desert in North America, but the harsh heat hasn’t stopped millions of annual visitors from taking in the beauty of the desert under the Tucson sun.

That is the fascinating power of the desert. It draws each of us in with its vastness, its promise of a quiet escape from the frenetic pace of modern life – just a short drive away from the bustling city. It frees our senses from the man-made noises of traffic, and the other sights and sounds of our human lives to which we’ve become so accustomed. The silence of the desert is palpable, broken only by the rustling wind and our voices as we marvel at the magnificence of a towering Saguaro cactus.

The majestic Saguaro cactus, with its looming arms and prickly exterior, symbolizes the desert’s resilience and admirable strength. As our planet and our lives endure many seasons of change, the desert is a place where time has stood still. At Saguaro National Park, it is estimated there are 1.9 million Saguaros within the boundaries of the park. This makes Saguaro National Park one of the world’s largest and most important saguaro habitats, its survival against the weather’s harshest conditions a testament to its strength. Saguaros live up to 175 years, earning them the reputation as the timeworn sages of the desert – they offer shelter, food, nesting for desert animals, and wisdom to us meager humans who seek solace within the desert sprawl.

Among the iconic saguaros lie the distinctive ocotillos, a shrub more closely related to a blueberry plant than the cacti. In the spring they bloom brilliant red flora, equally garnering as much attention as the sun paints the sky wild oranges and deep reds. Their branches grow long and sturdy, but flexible enough to dance and sway in the wind. A beautiful reminder from the wilderness to stay strong and committed on our own paths, but soft and supple in our journeys.

The desert’s mighty protectors, the palo verde, provide shelter and protect young saguaro for the first part of its life. Like the Giving Tree from the popular children’s book from Shel
Silverstein, the saguaros rely on the palo verde for moisture and shade, and they die once their missions are completed, another reminder of the holy interconnectedness of nature and how every being serves a greater purpose. Walk further along the paths and you’ll notice the spritely yucca plant, a plant that resembles a palm tree but with no body of water to be found anywhere. Instead of water as the life source for yucca, the yucca relies on the yucca moth for pollination, and in turn, the moth relies on the plant for food. This small but delicate dance of life and death that is customary to the desert, emphasizes again, that we too are a part of nature’s grand design.

Amongst the beautiful shrubbery of the park, the desert is teeming with an array of fascinating wildlife. The Gila monster, with a name as foreboding as its bite, is one of only two venomous lizards in the world and a rare sight to see. However, once found, their striking orange and black markings are a mesmerizing pattern to behold. Roadrunners, horned lizards, and kangaroo rats are much more common to see among visitors of Saguaro National Park. And among the most characteristic sights, the park is also home to the Javelina, the infamous boar of the desert. There is no mistaking that coming across a pack of javelinas in the desert is an adorable sight one would regrettably miss.

The vast desert of the Saguaro National Park is divided into two parts, east and west. The eastern side of the park is known as the Rincon Mountain District while the west is known as the Tucson Mountain District. Both sides of the park are well worth visiting for a multitude of reasons, as both sections have numerous nature trails and cactus loops. The east side is a boundless park to visit to hike its network of trails, with 128 miles of hiking trails and the Arizona Trail cutting through the rugged terrain. It’s an amazing way to spend all day taking in the sights and sounds of the desert’s energy and vitality with numerous picnic benches to stop for lunch.

The east side also has a smooth, paved drive through the park, the popular Cactus Forest Loop, a great way for everyone to enjoy the miracle of the desert from the safety and comfort of their car. There are twists and turns and rolling hills with stately scenic overviews, with the sun-soaked spectacle of the desert surrounding your senses from even inside your moving vehicle. The road is also a comfortable route for desert bikers who want to enjoy the scenery in safety. And with the east side of the park associated with the towering Rincon Mountain range, the wildlife is vibrant with variety thanks to its significant elevation changes. In the Spring, we are introduced to the beauty of the wildflowers that dot the landscape, blooming in ephemeral hues of jeweled pinks, oranges, and yellow.

Javelina Rocks on the east side is a personal favorite. The large, granite boulders beckon you to escape the confines of your car and get back in touch with your inner youth to climb. Climb to your heart’s content. Dotted with Saguaros and with a view of the Tucson basin set against the awe-inspiring mountain range, you are moved to reverence. The rocks are made of Catalina gneiss, a 1.4 billion-year-old Oracle granite, molten rock seamless blending with quartz veins. You are sitting on many years of the Earth’s crust stretching and moving for millions of years. It can simply be enough to sit in stillness and marvel at how the movement of the earth through time has led to the exact moment you have rested on what looks on the surface to be a simple pile of rocks.

After the heavy, sheeting rains of summer’s monsoon season, the park greets us with hidden surprises – flowing water. Bridal Wreath Falls, a cherished gem among Tucson Natives, is often described as well worth the effort it takes to traverse the trail. It’s a consistently rocky, uphill battle, a feat parallel to our undulating lives as humans. It is a five-mile hike, out and back, that starts out deceptively flat and turns to a subjectively moderately steep upwards hike. Along the way, you pass more desert vegetation and awe-inducing views. You can hear the falls before you see them, the soothing sound of flowing water mocking you as you round the last bend. While the falls are no Niagara Falls, the falls are an enigma of the southwestern desert. Sometimes we need reminders like a small trickle of negative ions passing between two boulders to remind us that the world is filled with enchantment, and going into nature is our way of sharpening our senses to find them.

To the West, where the wind batters but the cacti still stand tall, the park is considered more culturally significant. Beyond the smatterings of the thousands of Saguaro cacti, lie earthly treasures left by Native Americans that have been preserved for thousands of years. It is home to the Tohono O’odham people for many cherished years, and their people still maintain a strong connection to the land. When visiting this portion of the park, there are numerous hikes to discover where you can’t miss the ancient petroglyphs that litter the rocks. There are over 200 petroglyphs decorating portions of rocks along the trails, with Signal Hill Overlook boasting the largest concentration in Native America.

Scientists are unsure of what the drawings mean, but one can only assume while voyaging through the remoteness of the desert, there was undoubtedly a spiritual connection between the sun, the people, and the land. Many of the drawings indicate such a connection. Etchings of the sun with a center dot, almost reminiscent of a Bindu, the point of creation beginning and unity with all beings. My personal favorites are the ambiguous spirals, subtly abstract yet unending. Before there were paved paths and designated trails, humans freely roamed the desert ecosystem, not paying any mind to a pecuniary way of life. They simply were living. I like to believe they were simply mastering the art of being, completely unaware of our modern-day’s concept of linearity.

This is why the west side is my favorite. Even though it’s like pitting the sun and the moon against each other, it’s extremely difficult to even try and place the two.

As the adage goes, “West Coast is the best coast,” and I can’t help but unanimously support this sentiment for the western portion of the park.
When we’re seeking to escape the modernity of our lives, finding contentment in nature’s gorgeous immensity is medicine. The western portion of the park carries a feeling of rugged, and desolate seclusion, the perfect centerpiece for reaching contemplative states. You don’t run into as many people as you would on the eastern side of the park. It is almost like getting in your car for a short drive to hike, watching the world pass away from you in your rearview mirror, and then exiting your car onto another planet. This sensation is enhanced when you ground your feet to the Earth and you look up.

The desert sky is mother nature’s canvas, her crème de la crème of painting. In the evening the sky is gorgeously brushed with marigolds and honey, and blended with chromatic hues of blush, and violet. The crispness of the mountains disappears into the evening, blackening a portion of the sky with nothingness. As the day continues to fade, the cacti cast long shadows over the desert landscape. And in the distance, the faint twinkling of stars starts to tease us with their presence as the sun disappears over the horizon.

The western sky takes your breath away.

Away from the city, the blackened desert sky is a view that is unforgettably mesmerizing. Both the land and the stars come alive as if the brightly lit night awakens the nocturnal creatures of the desert. Considered a dark sky from horizon to horizon, the contrasted sky is the perfect backdrop for stargazing. The Milky Way and shooting stars become visible to the naked eye as if we are merely patrons of a cosmic theater, watching the universe put on its greatest performance.

There is nothing like the night sky to remind you of the grand complexity that surrounds us. There is nothing like the desert that reminds you of the infinite treasure of life. We come to the desert to be reminded of this. To remember. That each and every one of us is profoundly connected to something larger than ourselves, and that the rhythm of nature is what brought us here in the first place.

Unfortunately, if you’re not camping at any of the backcountry campgrounds, Saguaro National Park closes at twilight which means it’s time to bid adieu. Few park rangers will allow you to linger, as they understandably have families and homes to get back to. It is up to the strength of each of our memories to allow the unparalleled desert beauty to linger in our minds and hearts. Our individual experiences of the desert lie in the degree of our abilities to immerse ourselves in the present. The more present we are in noticing the small, beautiful details of the land around us, the more we remember how connected we are to life, and the more we remember who we are. Saguaro National Park does that for us, it leaves an indelible mark on our souls that only the wild desert can.