Days 4 & 5: Aug 29th & 30th- Arizona

Day 4: Saguaro National Park (West), Tucson, Arizona

From San Antonio we drove all night to Tucson, AZ, which was something like 15 hours. We stopped at the visitor's center, and they recommended 'Hacienda del Sol', a beautiful resort-type place in the hills above the desert that was a girl's school in the 50s. Perfect! Anyway, my goal was the Saguaro National Park, which was close by. I wanted to see the big Saguaro cactuses and I thought we might camp around there. But it never really went below 90F, even at night, and the ladies at the visitor's center were excited about the rates at the Hacienda. We lucked out and the rates were discounted by about 50%, so for $75/night, we stayed in what was luxurious, especially compared to an EconoLodge or Motel 6. We hiked a little in the 105F degree heat (40.5C) and had a small picnic in the park.

In the pics below, you can see some Hohokam indian petroglyphs (rock drawings) from about 1000 years ago.

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Day 5: Saguaro National Park (East), Tucson, Arizona
http://www.nps.gov/sagu/

Upper Tanque Verde Falls
http://www.nudetravelguide.com/nude-places/detail.php?siteid=122

We found another clothing-optional swimming hole, (no pics this time, oh wait, yes there are) in the middle of the desert, called Upper Tanque Verde Falls, inside the other Saguaro National Park (the east one). We passed one hiker on the way to the spot, and he confirmed that we were on the right path, and reassured us that we could walk on the trail naked. Since Fernando had already gotten a bunch of cactus needles in his pantleg, we decided against hiking in the buff. There are apparently 2 trails there, on one of which you will be yelled at if you appear naked.

That night we enjoyed the pool and hot tub (which felt so good I didn't mind the second degree burn I now had on my face) and we saw the biggest, hairiest spider we've ever seen in our lives outside of a zoo. It was drinking from the pool.

I took about 75 pics on these 2 days. I couldn't get enough of the landscape, plus the hotel and the swimming hole.