April 20, 2015 Saguaro NP and Casa Grande NM

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April 20, 2015 - Tuscon, AZ to Kingman, AZ

2.5 National Parks and 382 miles

We were in Tucson last night and caught some nice saguaro cacti sunset shots.  We tried to meet some friends and business associates while we were in the area, but it just didn't work out this time around.  It was a nice treat as we got to stay at the Four Points Sheraton for $64 a night all in! We decided to treat ourselves to a few drinks and dinner at their fancy restaurant.  Service both in hotel and restaurant was VERY GOOD, the food wasn't very good.  Kind of a waste of a good night 'out', but still nice to stay in such a nice place.  
 
 
 
We actually came to J&M to get our communication problems fixed once and for all!  We spent allot of money here, but now we have the ability to conduct some business while we are actually on the road 'hands free'.  While our headsets are being installed in our helmets, we headed to Saguaro NP East which is split in half by the town of Tucson.
 
We decided to go to the east park since we were going north-west to Kingman from here.  We actually visited Saguaro West last night to get our sunset pictures.  Since they are not connected, I counted them as 1.5 parks.  After all, my blog my rules...  lol  Just kidding honey, you took all the pictures that make the blog worth looking at!    
 


Sun hat selfies while riding.  It actually isn't as dangerous as
you might think, when you do it in the right conditions.
 







 
 
 



One of Shannon's infamous rearview mirror shots
























Interesting things you see in the desert; ocean based military planes.
Shannon likes farms with palm trees
 
Casa Grande is a really neat park.  I like to see how ancient ancestors built and how they survived so many thousands of years ago when they had none of the conveniences that we have today.



Dead Saguaro

Really old walls
Dying Saguaro


And there it is!  Beams have been placed to support the walls after years of
weathering, and people disrespecting the structure.  It was said that through
the 19th century, tourists would visit and actually take pieces of the walls!

The only remaining residents of the Casa Grande






The picture above shows what used to be here 1000's of years ago, the picture below shows what is left, plus the roof for protection from the elements with the hope that the structure will be preserved for many years to come.
 


Some of these cacti have been awesome looking in bloom 

 

They almost don't seem real
Shannon can't pass on a Saguaro picture :)

We are passing through Phoenix at sunset.

Nice view in the Phoenix city traffic
Crazy moon shot

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