We love exploring National Parks and the Great Outdoors! In the past couple of years, we’ve visited several in California but haven’t had the chance to venture as much inland. Luckily, our latest adventure brought us out to Tucson, Arizona to explore Saguaro National Park (It’s pronounced sa-WAH-roh. Can’t believe we’ve been saying it wrong all our lives!).
How many National Parks are in Arizona?
There are 3 national parks and 22 national park units total. We’ve been to the 3 major national parks and are now working through the national monuments, historic sites, and recreation areas.
Arizona National Parks
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Saguaro National Park
Arizona National Monuments
- Canyon De Chelly National Monument
- Casa Grande Ruins NM
- Chiricahua NM
- Hohokam Pima NM
- Montezuma Castle NM
- Navajo NM
- Organ Pipe Cactus NM
- Pipe Spring NM
- Sunset Crater Volcano NM
- Tonto NM
- Tuzigoot NM
- Walnut Canyon NM
- Wupatki NM
Arizona National Historic Sites
- Coronado National Memorial
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site
- Hubbell Trading Post NHS
- Tumacacori National Historic Park
Arizona National Recreation Areas
Misc
- Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument – is counted as part of Lake Mead NRA
- Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (AZ to CA)
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail (also CA, CO, NV, NM, UT)
We’ve seen other people’s photos of how big Saguaro cacti can grow, but it was mind-blowing to see these giants in person and drive through a whole forest of cacti.
Before visiting, we pictured a typical desert scenery that’s mostly dry and sandy, but we were really surprised to find how lush and green the Sonoran desert is.
Part of what why we love getting outdoors is that it helps us gain perspective. It reminds us of how grand nature is and how small we are. These cacti grow up to 40-60 ft and live up to 150+ years old. The first five years, they’re only an inch tall, and they grow ever so slowly.
When we’re sitting at home in front of our computers, it’s easy to get lost in our own day to day and the stresses of life. Seeing them helps me to remember to be patient with myself, with those around me, and my work. Everything happens in its own time.
During our trip, we stayed at Comfort Inn & Suites®. Our room was the perfect home base for us during our adventures. We could check in on work after a long day out, there was a fridge to store any food and drinks for the next day, and there was plenty of space for us to spread out and relax. No joke, our suite was bigger than our apartment! We even took advantage of the gym and hot breakfast even though we are not morning people (can you tell in the video?). We love that they are constantly renovating and improving their hotels.
To get you started on your next adventure, we’ve partnered with Comfort Inn & Suites® to give away a $500 Choice Hotels gift card! You can enter below.
Also, don’t forget to check out our vlog:
Thank you to Comfort Inn and Suites® by Choice Hotels for sponsoring our stay and this post. #RightChoice #RestedSetGo
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