Featuring Chiricahua National Monument, Saguaro National Park, Tuscon and the Coronado National Forest

Trying not to drive off the side of a cliff

After driving through west Texas and southern New Mexico, my friend Susan and I arrived late at night to the Coronado National Forest. Our GPS said it would take about an hour to get to a free campground near Chiricahua National Monument.

When we looked at the distance on the map, it said it was 15 miles away. “An hour to go 15 miles?” Susan said. “They must be crawling.” The speed limit said 20, but the dirt roads were so narrow and curving that we ended up going 10 just to make it up the steep switchbacks in the dark.

The campsite was worth it. We had the entire area to ourselves, complete with picnic tables and bear lockers. The next morning gave us gorgeous vistas of the surrounding mountains as we headed to Chiricahua National Monument, which we both agreed was our favorite hike of the trip.

Native Lands

This land was originally home of the Chiricahua Apache and Sobaipuri. When going on road trips, I like to use the excellent data visualization tool Native-Land.ca.

It gives you a basic overview of which Native American peoples and nations are sovereign to which territories. It is not a perfect resource but has a handy teachers’ guide and helps bring “an awareness of Indigenous presence and land rights.”

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Hiking Chiricahua National Monument

Chiricahua National Monument has incredible hiking, a well-executed visitor center and the cleanest public restrooms we’ve seen in the national park system.

We did the Inspiration Point Trail and then hiked down into Echo Canyon where we saw its famous grotto formations.

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After spending most of the day exploring Chiricahua, we headed on to Tuscon to meet up with new friend Garrett and see Saguaro National Park East at sunset.

A Cactus Forest

As the sun was setting, we had the privilege of seeing a full moon rise. It was the day before a meteor shower, and the moon was bright above the hundreds of saguaros. We walked along the interpretative Desert Ecology Trail, which was a stroll through the desert by the Javelina Wash. Along the trail, we learned about the residents of the Sonoran Desert, diverse species of plants, animals and trees.

Saguaro National Park West

In the western side of the park, about an hour from the eastern, we took two hiking routes among the massive saguaro cactuses. For the first hike, we went with our new friend Mike, a travel nurse who lives in Cali and was making his way across the country, visiting national parks in Utah and Arizona. We did the Cactus Wren/ Signal Hill/ Manville Loop which took us past ancient petroglyphs made by the prehistoric Hohokam. They created the artwork by etching, pecking and scraping designs into the dark patina found on the surface of sandstone and other rocks.

We also did the King Canyon/ Gould Mine Loop which took us up a sandy wash bottom between the canyon walls then back down an old mining trail.

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Exploring Tucson

Thanks to awesome recommendations from our Couchsurfing host Garrett, we went to several local places in Tucson that we loved. Tucson is a chill, walkable city with a great downtown area and good nightlife.

We went out for food on a Tuesday and the city was still alive with people walking around and enjoying the warm winter air. We went to a film festival at The Loft, and saw the Spanish film Dolor y Gloria, one of my favorite films of the year.

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We also checked out Garrett’s favorite spots including Barrio Bread, Cartel Coffee, and then headed downtown to see the Southwestern architecture and colorful street art.

Mount Lemmon, Elf Squirrels and the Cookie Cabin

Garrett also recommended that we take a hike around Mount Lemmon, one of the four summits just outside the city. We drove up winding mountain roads and made a stop at the magnificent Cookie Cabin, ate too much of a massive brownie cookie and then headed into the Coronado National Forest.

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While hiking we saw Abert’s squirrels also known as the tassel-eared squirrel, which had pointy elf ears and red russet designs on their backs.

We hiked the Marshall Gulch Trail on Mount Lemmon, just outside the small mountain town of Summerhaven.

My sister told me I had to see the sunset from Mount Lemmon so we hiked to the top of the peak and enjoyed spectacular views. Arizona has some of the most impressive sunsets I’ve ever seen.

Heading Home to Texas

After a recommendation from my friend and former boss, Ryan, we made a brief stop in El Paso to get tacos at Chico’s. After the cheesy goodness, we were able to visit my cousins Audrey and David and their two girls Letty and Loly. We had a great visit with them — singing Frozen, playing in a pink castle and learning about Barbie’s marine biology career in the premiere motion picture “Barbie Dolphin Magic.”

It was sad to say goodbye to my cousins, but I was grateful for the time spent with them and my Aunt Lori and Uncle Barry. We headed back to Austin, but first stopped for a weekend camping trip with friends in Garner State Park — the first state park I ever visited in Texas — and the incredible Hill Country State Natural Area near Bandera.

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