Saguaros and Red Rocks

Arizona has some breathtakingly beautiful sights to see. Our first stop in the “Grand Canyon State” (We’ll get to the actual Grand Canyon a little later) was a town called Benson, which is pretty close to Tucson. Ray and I had been to Tucson years ago, and we visited Tombstone and Old Tucson (a movie studio where Westerns were filmed) at that time. We decided to spare the girls those outings, and we gave them plenty of pool time, instead. It was really warm – high 80s – so the kids cared about one thing only: swimming.

We did venture out to Saguaro National Park one day, where we saw enormous saguaro cacti. The girls were impressed, because these things can get pretty tall, and they are so old. According to the National Park Service, a saguaro can take up to 10 years to reach one inch in height, and around 70 years to get to six feet and begin to produce flowers.  It takes until a saguaro is 95-100 years old to start to produce its first arm, and they are usually about 15 feet tall at this point. By 200 years old, the saguaro cactus has reached its full height, reaching upwards of 45 feet tall (NPS).

It was incredibly hot the day we went, and we had the dogs, so we just did some really short walks and took lots of pictures. Some of the saguaro have numerous arms pointing in various directions, while others have none. Some look like they are praying, others look like they are walking like an Egyptian, and plenty are just standing there with their arms lifted to the sky. I had this strange urge to dress them up with hats and bow ties, but I am pretty sure that would be against the law.

Our next stop in Arizona was Sedona. Talk about gorgeous! I can see why the rock formations there are some of the most photographed. We got to town and set the RV up about an hour before sunset, so we hopped back in the truck and headed out to see some of the famous red rocks before dusk. We stopped at the Red Rock Ranger District to get some info, and see some of the formations from a distance; then we cruised up Red Rock Scenic Byway (179 N) to take in the views. These spectacular red rocks took many millions of years to form and are comprised of sediment layers, including the iron that makes the red color. One of the more famous rocks is Bell Rock, and we took a short walk to get a closer look. We explored the area until it started to get dark and called it a night.

The next day, we decided to do some real hiking, and we’d learned that Cathedral Rock is one of the most popular hiking spots and one of the more beautiful rock formations. Cathedral Rock it was! We took the dogs on this one, and even Old Scout was able to keep up. Again, I was just in awe of the beauty. I am so glad we decided to spend a couple of days in this part of the state, because it was so worth it.

We also stopped by the Montezuma Castle National Monument. I had never heard of this place, but it was about five minutes from the RV park (in Camp Verde), so we took a picnic (Chinese takeout) and drove over. Built into the side of a limestone cliff, it is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Built some time between 1125 and 1200 AD by the Sinagua people, the dwelling is about 4,000 square feet and five stories of living space. Pretty impressive! After it became federally protected, people were actually allowed to tour the inside (I would have loved this!), but some time in the 1950s, it was determined that this might compromise the integrity of the dwelling; so, now we can only see it from a distance.

Still, it was really something to see. There was a model showing what the inside looked like, so that visitors today can get a feel for what living in the cliff dwelling was like.

After leaving Red Rock Country, we headed a little Northwest to Williams, Arizona, which is where we are now. It’s known as “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon” and is about 60 miles south of it. It’s also on historic Route 66, so the downtown area is full of fun Route 66 stuff. We’ve already checked out the historic downtown area, but we just arrived today and have eight days here, so we will have plenty to report soon. The Grand Canyon is on the list, and there has been some talk of a place called Bearizona, a wildlife park where visitors drive through to see wildlife in its natural habitat. This, as the name suggests, includes bears. We just got a new truck, and I can’t have a bear damaging that thing, so we’ll have to really do some research first!