Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park ↗️ comes in two pieces -- Tucson Mountain District (west) and Rincon Mountain District (east) -- with the city of Tucson in between. It's just 20 minutes from my home, so it's a real shame I don't get over there more often.
The park was established to protect the famous saguaro cactus and related species. The saguaros are distinctive, and are a keystone species for the local ecosystem.
Rincon Mountain District (East)
The east side, which is closer for me, is a riparian area -- there is almost always some water available, collected in small pools, trickling out of crevices in the rocks, or, occasionally, running in swift torrents immediately following a heavy rainfall.
At the visitor center, there's a great video talking about how the ecosystem works, and the amazing diversity of species in this part of the desert.
2025
2026
Spring came very early this year, since we had a warm winter with no freezes at all.
I'm obsessed with these fairy dusters! They are such messy flowers, but they are absolute bee magnets and I love all the textures!
This is London rocket, a type of mustard. It's very invasive, and just grows everywhere. Really interesting flowers, though.
Fiddlenecks look like caterpillars just gave up and mated with their host plants.
There are several types of cholla cactus growing in this desert. Some day I'll know their names. This one is purple!
The palo verde trees were still pretty bare, but the first tender, new leaves were starting to come in. They'll put on a great show later this spring! I had no idea that their leaves started off this rusty brown color.
Ocotillos look like aliens come to earth. Rawr! Fear my tendrils! They spend the whole winter looking like dead cactus sticks, and then leaf out and flower in a rush in the spring.
And here's... my other flower, whose name I do not remember. Some day, perhaps, I will have learned all their names. Off to find my field guide...
