A recap of events (Jan/Feb 2018): Saguaro and a neat Airbnb in Gleeson, AZ
After finishing up in Phoenix on the car, I was excited to start making my way to three national parks: Saguaro (pronounced [sa̠ˈwa̠.ɾo̞] near Tucson, Guadalupe Mountains east of El Paso, and Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. I wanted to visit Big Bend in Texas as well, but realized I would need to rush the others (needed to be in Colorado after about a week). So I put Big Bend on the TODO list for another time. I planned on two days at Saguaro National Park, two days at Carlsbad Caverns, and the rest of the time (about 3 days) at Guadalupe Mountains.
I looked at the campgrounds near Saguaro National Park and wasn't too satisfied with them, so I decided to get a really interesting (and cheap!) Airbnb in the middle of southern Arizona. It was close to the small town of Gleeson, Arizona and pretty far from anything else. The space was off the grid, had farm animals, and, I could only assume, very friendly and interesting hosts.
I stopped at Saguaro National Park on my way from Phoenix to Gleeson and did all the activities suggested for a half day visit, including a short hike around the Signal Hill area in the Western half of the park (Saguaro is split into East and West, with Tucson in the middle). Unfortunately didn't take pictures myself, but the park is primarily known for the plethora of Saguaro cacti that can grow over 40ft tall:
After leaving the park, I got into Gleeson a bit after sunset, happy that I still had a GPS signal to get me down a few dirt roads to the Airbnb. I briefly met the host and turned in for the night. In the morning, I was pleasantly greeted by another guest in the breakfast room. Steven and I struck up a great conversation immediately after meeting and I was very grateful for his company. He had been fasting for a few weeks prior and was just starting to eat again. He came out from Rochester, NY to a spot far away from civilization to experiment with fasting. It was wonderful to see how intensely he reacted to eating a piece of fruit, appreciating every bite and the explosion of flavor. I had initially thought about heading back to Saguaro, but was enjoying the company of Steven more so. He spoke about his departure from a "traditional" chemical engineering job into starting his own composting business. His passion for conservation and community was very inspiring.
So I ended up spending the rest of the day with Steven as he started to regain his energy. He recommended a nearby area for some hiking and diverse plant life. It was about an hour's drive to the Cochise Stronghold which turned out to be a climbing area as well! I had never heard of it, but turns out it's been a growing area with over 1000 routes! I added it to the list of places I will come back to for some climbing. Steven gave me a great introduction into identifying plants on our hike: to understand what is edible, what can be used medicinally, and to have a new perspective/experience of recognition when being around plants.
After getting back to the Airbnb for dinner, I took down some notes from Steven's wonderful experiences in Thailand and Bali. I became very excited after our discussion and this solidified my decision to visit southeast Asia next. I was also reminded of the lunar eclipse that evening/early morning. It was going to be the "super blue blood moon." So I set my alarm for the peak of the eclipse (early morning, around sunrise). I managed to actually get out of bed and was grateful to have seen it:
It was the first time I had seen a blue/blood/pink moon! I was also really happy to get back to bed for a few more hours sleep. I parted ways with Steven after exchanging some book recommendations; he was heading off to El Paso for a few days and I was heading to Guadalupe Mountains NP to grab a camp site.
I looked at the campgrounds near Saguaro National Park and wasn't too satisfied with them, so I decided to get a really interesting (and cheap!) Airbnb in the middle of southern Arizona. It was close to the small town of Gleeson, Arizona and pretty far from anything else. The space was off the grid, had farm animals, and, I could only assume, very friendly and interesting hosts.
I stopped at Saguaro National Park on my way from Phoenix to Gleeson and did all the activities suggested for a half day visit, including a short hike around the Signal Hill area in the Western half of the park (Saguaro is split into East and West, with Tucson in the middle). Unfortunately didn't take pictures myself, but the park is primarily known for the plethora of Saguaro cacti that can grow over 40ft tall:
.jpg/1200px-Carnegiea_gigantea_in_Saguaro_National_Park_near_Tucson%2C_Arizona_during_November_(58).jpg) |
| Photo courtesy of Wikipedia |
After leaving the park, I got into Gleeson a bit after sunset, happy that I still had a GPS signal to get me down a few dirt roads to the Airbnb. I briefly met the host and turned in for the night. In the morning, I was pleasantly greeted by another guest in the breakfast room. Steven and I struck up a great conversation immediately after meeting and I was very grateful for his company. He had been fasting for a few weeks prior and was just starting to eat again. He came out from Rochester, NY to a spot far away from civilization to experiment with fasting. It was wonderful to see how intensely he reacted to eating a piece of fruit, appreciating every bite and the explosion of flavor. I had initially thought about heading back to Saguaro, but was enjoying the company of Steven more so. He spoke about his departure from a "traditional" chemical engineering job into starting his own composting business. His passion for conservation and community was very inspiring.
So I ended up spending the rest of the day with Steven as he started to regain his energy. He recommended a nearby area for some hiking and diverse plant life. It was about an hour's drive to the Cochise Stronghold which turned out to be a climbing area as well! I had never heard of it, but turns out it's been a growing area with over 1000 routes! I added it to the list of places I will come back to for some climbing. Steven gave me a great introduction into identifying plants on our hike: to understand what is edible, what can be used medicinally, and to have a new perspective/experience of recognition when being around plants.
After getting back to the Airbnb for dinner, I took down some notes from Steven's wonderful experiences in Thailand and Bali. I became very excited after our discussion and this solidified my decision to visit southeast Asia next. I was also reminded of the lunar eclipse that evening/early morning. It was going to be the "super blue blood moon." So I set my alarm for the peak of the eclipse (early morning, around sunrise). I managed to actually get out of bed and was grateful to have seen it:
It was the first time I had seen a blue/blood/pink moon! I was also really happy to get back to bed for a few more hours sleep. I parted ways with Steven after exchanging some book recommendations; he was heading off to El Paso for a few days and I was heading to Guadalupe Mountains NP to grab a camp site.
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