Arizona Photos - My First 36 Hours In Tucson, Arizona (Saguaro National Park, Tucson Mountains, Gates Pass Area)

***Arizona Photos - My First 36 Hours in Tucson, Arizona - January 2007***

Visit to Saguaro National Park East
	Arizona baby! Being that I live in Colorado, it was very pleasant to arrive in Tucson with high temperatures in the 70's most days. I have been to Arizona on a few occasions, but had never visited the city of Tucson. I really must give special thanks to Joel Smith, a local resident and "regular" on the Cactus Lovers Forum who took me in and showed me around town. After having lunch on the first day I arrived, we immediately set out for Saguaro National Park East and these four adjacent photos were my best ones. All of the photos on this page were taken in the first 36 hours of my arrival! :)
	The saguaros that dominate the landscape in and around Tucson are definitely the big catch this way, but I found these large golden barrel cacti to be particularly endearing. I feel like I made a new friend in the Arizona desert! :p)

Photos From The Tucson Mountains

	The next morning, I set out for the Tucson Mountains (west of Tucson) and planned to hike to the summit of Golden Gate Mountain, the largest peak on the left.
	Up on a pointed hill not far from Gates Pass, I snapped this shot of Golden Gate Mountain.
	Near the beginning of the hike, the morning sun shined perfectly on this large prickly pear cactus!
	Wowwee! Look at all those saguaros! It was somewhere around this point that I turned around. The Golden Gate Trail pretty much disintegrated near a few boulders about 50% of the way up. The trail is poorly marked with almost no signage except at the very beginning; I plan to return, hike to the summit and give a much more detailed report about how to safely reach the summit. (Perhaps some trail building is in order too!) ;).
	It was my first morning in Arizona and of course, I focused quite a bit on photographing the saguaros.
	I captured the same saguaro with six arms on one side from two very different angles.
	Prickly pear cacti pretty much grow like weeds out in this part of southern Arizona!
	Back at a pointed hill near Gates Pass, this is the view looking out towards the valley. The area out there with the few buildings is the Old Tucson Studios.
	Here's one photo as my friend Joel and I were exiting the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I'm telling you, if you love desert, this particular area (encompassing Saguaro National Park West) is definitely worth visiting! :)