Saguaro National Park protects almost 92,000 acres of the northern Sonoran Desert. Established as a National Monument by Herbert Hoover in the waning days of his disastrous presidency, it was upgraded to a National Park by Congress in 1994, part of a robust legacy of desert conservation during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Of the Park’s 92,000 acres, 71,000 are federally designated Wilderness.
The Park comprises two distinct units on the eastern and western edges of Tucson, Arizona. While both units contain the same general ingredients of desert grassland and variously vegetated transition zones climbing the slopes of mountain ranges, they have markedly different flavors. To the east, Rincon Mountain District contains a true Sky Island, a mountain range high enough and cool enough to cradle habitat remnants of ecosystems—trapped above warming valley floors as the Ice Age glaciers retreated—usually found much farther north. To the west, Tucson Mountain District, smaller and lower, feels more iconically like desert, with dramatic, virtually bare, mountains rising sharply from flats and valleys.
In November 2022, Sean and I traveled to Tucson so I could celebrate my birthday in the desert. Following my New Mexico birthday the year before, we were establishing something of a tradition (which would be followed by an Arizona and New Mexico trip for my birthday in 2023). When you have a November birthday, National Park options can be a little limited.
It turned out that Bold Bison was able to pick up a video shoot that timed out well for this birthday trip. So for me, the trip was bifurcated into a pure vacation portion and then an adventurous work trip.
The plan was for Sean and me to fly out Wednesday evening, November 9, 2022. On Thursday and Friday, November 10 and 11, we would explore Saguaro National Park. On Saturday, my birthday, we’d hang out in Tucson (one of two UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy in the United States). On Sunday, we’d drive down to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Then on Monday, November 14, Sean would fly home to Chicago and Patrick would fly out to Tucson. Tuesday and Wednesday we’d work remotely and shoot video interviews and b-roll footage. Then on Thursday, November 17, we’d head home.