Saguaro National Park — West in Tucson, AZ

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This is a young saguaro that is probably about 30 years old. We took a sunset hike with a ranger led group on 5 December.
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Amazing these plants can grow out of the rocks. The wavy pattern on this barrel cactus caught my eye.
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A wavy sunset too! The almost full moon rose to guide us back to Sus picnic area.
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We went back on December 18th for a really great geography presentation. We took our own sunset hike after a rainy morning.
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Great lighting. We took the Hugh Norris Trail about a mile up to the large boulders and overlook.
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Our friends – they have so much personality!
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So nice to have this saguaro pose just right there in front of the sunset!
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Such a beautiful place to watch the sunset. Wish it was a closer drive to the condo.

Sabino Canyon in Coronado National Forest

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Try to hold that pose! We took a 4-mile or so loop as our introduction to this area north of Saguaro National Park East.
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A large concentration of saguaros!
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This looks out of a western movie where an iconic saguaro was stuck on the hillside for a good silhouette.
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Line ’em up…barrel, cholla, saguaro.
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We went back on Dec 15th to do the 7  Falls trail which was very lush after the Saturday rain. This contrail seemed to make the falls continue upwards.
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Little Gumby says this is his favorite trail…there are 7 stream crossing which adds some excitement but you follow the stream all the way to and from the falls.
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Back to the condo for this sunset view.

Ventana Canyon Trail to Maiden Pools

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The moon is still hovering in the sky when we start this hike at 8:30. We joined a Sabino Canyon hiking group for this hike that starts at Loewe’s Ventana Canyon Resort.
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This seemed like a perfect saguaro in a perfect setting!
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The views looking back on Tucson were pretty amazing! We hiked over a 1,100 feet elevation gain…definitely ready for a hot tub after this!
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Polished rocks and pools of water glisten in the sun.
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On our way down, this puffy little cloud seemed to want its picture taken…it is like a dot on an i.
14-12-13 Sunset From Loews Resort -001
We went back to the Loews Resort to enjoy an evening with hot cider and a dance performance. We caught this sunset on the drive over.

Catalina State Park, AZ

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This Saguaro has supposedly over 30 arms – it was quite the condo for birds and you can see one perched on the top.
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We had a great hike to Romero Pools and then hung out for the second Saturday concert in the park which was good music.
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The setting sun took our attention away from the music.
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Majestic!
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Colors in every direction – these are the Catalinas!
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It kept getting better and better! The full moon kept us company on our drive back to the condo.