Skip to main content

National Park Wednesday; Saguaro National Park and Cactus Forest Drive

By
Back in 2012 I visited the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park located in the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona.  My goal for the trip was to drive Cactus Forest Drive and visit the location of the Loma Verde Mine.


Saguaro National Park was legislatively created by Congress out of the land that was Saguaro National Monument in 1994.  Saguaro National Park consists of two districts; the Rincon Mountain District in the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson and the Tucson Mountain District west of the city.  Saguaro National Monument originally consisted of land that is now part of the Rincon Mountain District, the Monument was declared in 1933.  Saguaro National Monument was expanded in 1961 when the Tucson Mountain District was added.  Additional land was added in 1976 and when Tucson National Monument was expanded to a National Park in 1994.

The primary attraction to Saguaro National Monument is the namesake Saguaro Cactus.  Originally the Rincon Mountain District had far more Saguaros but many of them died off during a hard freeze in the Tucson Area.  The Rincon Mountain District is traversed by the one-way Cactus Forest Drive which completes a clockwise circle of the Rincon Foothills.





North of Cactus Forest Drive is a trail through the desert washes of the tailings of the Loma Verde Mine.  The Loma Verde Mine opened in the 1880s during an era of homesteading around the Tucson Area.  The Loma Verde Mine mostly consisted of copper ore but miners were also searching for gold and silver deposits.  The tailings on the Loma Verde Mine site were from a 350 shaft dug in 1901.  The Loma Verde Mine continued to operated on and off until 1942 during the onset of World War II.














The rest of Cactus Forest Drive consists of views of the Rincon Mountains which connects to various trailheads.  The roadway is very old and follows the general course of the somewhat rough terrain.  Interestingly Cactus Forest Drive is connected to the Old Spanish Auto Trail by the Park Entrance Road.










Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rep. Sue Myrick's letter to Gov. Easley and Sect. Tippett published in Charlotte Observer

By
US. Representative Sue Myrick's (R-Charlotte) letter to North Carolina's Governor Mike Easley and NC Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett was published in the Friday, November 30th edition of the Charlotte Observer . Why are we delaying the completion of 1-485 in Charlotte again? I read in The Charlotte Observer how rising prices of materials are leading to the delay. Why didn't these same rising costs delay the loops in Fayetteville and Wilmington? Why are we building loops in Fayetteville and Wilmington before we complete the one in Charlotte? We were working on the one in Charlotte back when I was mayor. That was 20 years ago! ... Last I looked Charlotte was the largest city in the state. There seems to be no recognition of that fact in Raleigh. No recognition that we are at a standstill with traffic. No recognition that we have a traffic problem. Nor is there any recognition of the fact that the state DOT utterly botched up the southern leg of our yet to be completed ...
Post a Comment
Read more

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Sandstone Falls

By
The New River, which runs through New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, is best known for its dramatic rapids and whitewater adventures.  Those features begin at one of the river's widest points: Sandstone Falls. From the Sandstone Falls Boardwalk a look at just a small part of the falls. Though the vertical drop of roughly 20 feet is less than many other well-known waterfalls in the state, the falls' expanse, where the river approaches 1500 feet wide, makes Sandstone Falls impressive.   The Boardwalk Trail leads to a better vantage point of the overall falls. It is a great spot for photography, fishing, or laying out in the sun. Access to the falls is relatively easy: from Hinton, cross the New River on Highway 20, then turn right onto CR 26 and follow New River Road to the Sandstone Falls Parking Area. The Island Loop Trail is a short detour off the Boardwalk Trail and shows a quieter side of the area. At Sandstone Falls, you will find a variety of activities fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

I-90 in Albany, New York and the Berkshire Spur

By
Today's Albany Times Union has a segment in their weekly Getting There? column that explains some of the history behind how I-90 is designated in the Albany, NY area as well as the Berkshire Spur. The long and short of the article was that I-90 was originally designated on the unsigned portion of the Berkshire Spur, but as free I-90 was built, the designation was moved onto the free portion of road. Additionally, there were talks in 1999 between state and federal officials about the possibility of moving I-90 back onto the unsigned portion of the Berkshire Spur, while extending I-88 onto what we know as free I-90. There would have also had been an I-88/I-90 multiplex between Rotterdam and Albany as a result. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=916307
Post a Comment
Read more