Saguaro National Park: A Lime Kiln, Cacti, and Mountain Vistas

Now that it has finally cooled down, it's perfect hiking weather here in Tucson. A couple weeks ago, I hiked the Hope Camp Coyote Wash and Ruiz Trail Loop in Saguaro National Park East. It was a lovely morning, and while I didn't see much in the way of wildlife, there was a lime kiln ruin (probably dating from the late 19th century), plus beautiful saguaros and stunning views of Tucson and the surrounding mountains.

The Loma Alta Kiln is just off the Ruiz trail.

Although one gets quite used to saguaros, living in Tucson, some of the large old specimens in the national park are really quite amazing. A saguaro like this is probably about 150 years old (maybe older) and weighs about 4 tons!

They're also even more impressive en masse than singly.

The top of this agave stalk caught my fancy.

And here are some views from the trail. First, looking south at the Santa Rita (right) and Whetstone (left) mountain ranges.

The Santa Ritas are home to Madera Canyon, which I visited and blogged about several times this year.

And looking west you can see the Tucson mountains, with Tucson and the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in the midground.

The hike itself was among the Rincon mountains. I think this is looking over towards Tanque Verde ridge, west of the peak.

I'm hoping to do some more hiking and birding over the break--making the best of not going back east for Christmas--but until then, happy holidays to everyone!