Another day, another national park

Four hours after leaving Blythe, I reached Saguaro National Park. The park is actually in 2 parts, 1 east and 1 west of Tucson. I went to the western area. First stop was the visitor center where I saw a movie about the Native American’s thoughts and feelings about the land and how we are one with the land and so must treat it with respect and dignity, care and love. I took some short walks, taking photos of the plants and majestic saguaro cactus. I think spending time looking at them thru my camera lens, figuring out the best light and the best angles, made me look closer and more purposefully. Thanks to the recent rain, the desert flowers are also in bloom (the same was true at Joshua Tree). I could have spent all day just walking around looking at the different cactus, trees and flowers, but I wanted to reach Tombstone before it got too late.

My lodging in Tombstone is a really old, small motel —with 4 small efficiencies. Its a pretty cool place actually. I went over to one of the bar/restaurants in town to check out the music. I ended up at Big Nose Kate’s, sitting at the bar with a beer and an order of fries. The place was hopping, with lots of men in cowboy hats. The band started their set with everyone reciting the pledge of allegiance. Yep, this is Trump country. Fortunately, next to me at the bar were a young Hispanic couple from Phoenix, and later, an older couple from Germany. Not sure how I’d handle sitting with a gun-toting cowboy. It’s definitely a different culture. But it was a fun experience, and I’m glad I stopped here for the night.

What I learned: 1. There is no political correctness in Tombstone, evidenced by the woman wearing big feathered headress at the bar; and 2. You can’t always judge a motel by its exterior. This one is all run down on the outside but the rooms are nice.