FAMILY ROAD TRIP TO SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK

阖家旅游仙人掌国家公园

By Parkseekers on October 1, 2019

当我们最小的孩子 15 个月大时，我们开始了第一次从加利福尼亚到犹他州的长途公路旅行，去探索一些壮观的国家公园。 从那时起，每年三月，当我丈夫从他的大学教学岗位上放春假时，我们都会花一周的时间在我们最美丽的西部公园里开车、远足、探索和建立联系！ 去年，我们探索了亚利桑那州的仙人掌国家公园，将其添加到我们参观过的公园列表中，并对其美丽印象深刻。

关于仙人掌国家公园

今天，仙人掌国家公园由西边和东边与图森接壤的两部分组成。 最初，在 1933 年，胡佛总统将西部的林肯山脉命名为仙人掌国家纪念碑的第一部分。 将近 30 年后的 1961 年，肯尼迪总统将东图森山区作为仙人掌国家纪念碑的一部分。 令人惊讶的是，直到 1994 年，国会才正式将这两个地区（仍然横跨图森）合并为仙人掌国家公园。 公园的地图非常有趣，因为当他们希望保护这些土地时，图森也在开发，就在公园的中间。

非常关键的是要指出一年中的访问时间。 这是沙漠！ 春季、秋季甚至冬季都是游览的最佳时间，但夏季气温超过38摄氏度，而且是季风季节！ 在高沙漠中，当温度升高，太阳加热潮湿的空气时，会形成雷雨云，雨水会迅速下落，从而引发洪水泛滥。 虽然夏天孩子放假可能更容易计划，但夏天真的不是参观的好时机。我们以前见过仙人掌——我们住在加利福尼亚！

但夏天真的不是参观的好时机。我们以前见过仙人掌——我们住在加利福尼亚！ 然而，仙人掌国家公园的仙人掌令人难以置信！ 许多人会立即想起史努比的兄弟斯派克的卡通片，里面有风滚草和仙人掌——查尔斯·舒尔茨帮助它们成为了标志性人物。 我们一越过边界进入亚利桑那州，就发现到处都是高大、巨大的仙人掌！ 成千上万！ 这就像一个欢迎委员会，张开双臂，我们看到的到处都是仙人掌。 那天晚上我们很晚才到达图森，计划早上参观公园。

When our youngest was 15 months old, we took our first long road trip from California to Utah to explore some spectacular National Parks.  Since then, each year in March, when my husband has Spring Break from his university teaching position, we take a week to drive, hike, explore and bond in some of our most beautiful western parks!  This past year, we explored Saguaro National Park in Arizona, adding it to our list of parks visited and left quite impressed by its beauty.

About Saguaro National Park

Today, Saguaro National Park is comprised of two parts that border Tucson on the west and the east. Originally, in 1933, just the western portion, the Rincon Mountains, were named as the first part of Saguaro National Monument by President Hoover.  Almost three decades later, in 1961, President Kennedy established the eastern Tucson Mountain District as part of Saguaro National Monument. Amazingly, it wasn’t until 1994 that Congress merged both districts (still straddling Tucson) officially as Saguaro National Park.  The map of the park is so interesting because as they were looking to protect these lands, Tucson was developing too, right in the middle of the park.

It’s important to point out that the time of year to visit is REALLY important.  This is the desert!  Spring, Fall – even Winter, are optimal times to visit, but the summer brings temperatures over 100 degrees and the Monsoon season!  In the high desert, when the temperatures rise, and the sun heats the humid air, thunderstorm clouds form and rain can fall quickly causing rapid flooding.  While it may be easier to plan because kids of out of school, the summer is really not a good time to visit.

We’ve seen cactus before – we live in California!  However, the Saguaro cacti are INCREDIBLE!  As soon as we crossed the border into Arizona, we spotted the tall, massive Saguaros everywhere! Thousands of them! It was like a welcoming committee, arms wide open, Saguaros everywhere we looked.  We arrived in Tucson late that evening, planning to visit the park in the morning.

到达公园

趁早开始，我们很高兴为我们的家人探索一个新公园！ 当我们从图森的一个非常市区出发，并在 20 分钟内被移植到国家公园时，感觉有点奇怪！ 和许多家庭一样，我们在公园的入口标志处拍了我们必须的全家福，然后前往游客中心获取远足信息和 Junior Ranger 书籍。 有趣的是，他们不仅给我们书，还记录了我们孩子的名字和年龄，以跟踪谁收到了这些书。 公园工作人员还提供了我们一些很好的远足技巧，我们就出发了。

了解仙人掌的生长速度有多慢真的是令人着迷。 具有三个或更多“手臂”的传统仙人掌造型实际上已有 100 至 120 年历史！ 主要单基生长需要60-70年。 将近75岁手臂才开始萌芽！ 我们也为了解仙人掌的内部结构而大吃一惊。 最好的描述可能是它看起来像是用肋骨和骨头做成的。 显然这不是骨头，但仙人掌是由一束垂直的木肋骨支撑的，这些木肋骨死后就可以看到了。

由于时间安排，我们选择只参观东区，读到它更风景如画。 我们开始沿着仙人掌森林风景区环路行驶，这里经常有停靠点，可以欣赏壮观的景色。 考虑计划至少 2 天，这样你就可以参观公园的两个部分。 他们提供不同的景点和不同收藏的仙人掌。 这是非常值得的是，在这三月中旬的一天，天气炎热，阳光明媚，蓝天白云。


资料来源: https://www.parkseekers.com/family-road-trip-to-saguaro-national-park

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Arriving at the Park

Getting an early start, we were excited to explore a new park for our family!  It felt a bit odd as we departed from a very urban area in Tucson, and within 20 minutes had been transplanted into a National Park!  As many families do, we took our obligatory family photo at the park’s entrance sign and proceeded to the Visitor’s Center for hiking info and Junior Ranger books.  Interestingly, rather than just giving us books, they took the names and ages of our kids to keep track of who was receiving them. The Ranger gave us some good hiking tips and we headed out.

It was fascinating to learn how SLOOOOOW Saguaro cacti grow. The traditional Saguaro shape, with three or more “arms” is actually over 100 – 120 years old! It takes 60-70 years for the main single base to grow.  The arms start sprouting after it’s nearly 75 years old! We were also blown away to learn what the inside of the Saguaro looks like. Probably best described as looking like it’s made of ribs and bones. Obviously it’s not bones, but the cactus is supported by a bundle of vertical wooden ribs which become visible after it dies.

Due to our timing, we chose just to visit the East side, reading that it was more picturesque.  We started driving down the Cactus Forest Scenic Loop drive, which offers frequent places to pull off for spectacular views.  Consider planning for at least 2 days, so you can visit both sides of the park. They offer different views and collections of cacti.  It’s worth noting that on this mid-March day, the weather was hot, the sun was bright and the sky was sapphire blue with puffy white clouds.

Source: https://www.parkseekers.com/family-road-trip-to-saguaro-national-park


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