During the big government shut-down of 2018, the National parks were left open, but the visitor centers (and rangers) were closed. We visited Saguaro which felt like a ghost town. Trash was starting to pile up in the parking lots. Cars drove in and out – some just camped in place. The natural beauty remained, but without some sense of order around it was spooky. Later we would read that in the absence any rangers, vandalism took its tool on the park. Very sad. Otherwise, hiking among these giant cactus is stunning. You cannot help but anthropomorphize them in their numerous posses. The dirt road trails make for great biking if you have two inch tires or better.
Saguaro Unfiltered (1/11/2019) - No Sutro or Ludwig or Crema today. Just pure, unfiltered Sonoran Desert. Temperatures are crisp here and while we're not… …