sah-wah-roh

This pretty place was one of my favorite stops along our Great Southwest Road Trip, which is funny because it wasn’t originally on our itinerary, or even our radar until the day we went. We got lucky enough to stumble upon Saguaro (pronounced sah-wah-roh) National Park on St. Patty's Day, which turned out to be the perfect spot amongst the desert greens.

We were supposed to visit the Grand Canyon, but the weather had us changing our minds and our plans at the last minute. At first, it felt like this was going to be a downgrade that we would have to make the best of. Instead, it turned out to be a favorite spot that we visited. We both agreed that changing our plans was for the better and we got to spend the day falling in love with this hidden gem. 
Pulling up to this park and seeing the most iconic adobe style visitor center. They have captured the culture here so well. 

Had to stop and take our traditional photo with the entrance sign. We do this at every national park that we visit together.

When you think of cacti, you think of the Saguaro. They truly are the embodiment of the Southwest. Need proof? Just check out the cacti emoji 
🌵 It's a S-A-G-U-A-R-O! 

Ironically, Saguaros only thrive in a few remote areas of the Southwest and this park is obviously one of them with Saguaros as far as the eye can see. 

Hiking all the best trails and blending in with the scenery! 

Identifying every single cacti along the way with my Mac's Field Guide

Can you tell that I am a total science nerd that loves the outdoors? 

Fun Fact about Saguaro Cacti, they grow upwards and outwards for the first 200 years of their life spans, but don't get their first arms until around 75-100 years old. So the cacti that I'm standing with is only about 50 years old whereas the one beside Husband is closer to ~150 years old. Amazing Right!?
Got to see a little rock art with these petroglyphs 

Maybe not the best place to stop and take a break. Whoops! 

The national park service never ever let’s us down, but this pretty park turned out to be an extra fun unexpected fave. It’s actually fairly small compared to most national parks, which honestly worked out great for us because we were pretty tired after a full week of hiking out west. We found some amazing, but short hikes to do in this park, which made it the perfect day trip from Phoenix. I love this laid back national park that we had all to ourselves for the day. 

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