One Day at Saguaro National Park (West) 🌵 | Hiking Wasson Peak, Valley View Overlook, & more!
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2024
- We spent a day exploring Saguaro National Park’s west side in Tucson, Arizona, including a very windy hike up Wasson Peak, seeing tons of saguaro cacti, cooking a cactus themed meal, and watching a beautiful sunset.
🔗Links
See all of our camera & hiking gear: adventuresofaplusk.com/gear/
Cactus taco recipe: www.sidechef.com/recipes/5304... (we mostly followed this, but added a ton of spices to the mixture)
⌚Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Wasson Peak
06:05 Visitor Center
06:33 Making cactus tacos
08:12 Desert Discovery Nature Trail
09:03 Bajada Loop Drive
09:32 Signal Hill Petroglyphs
10:05 Valley View Overlook Trail
📍Locations in this vlog
Wasson Peak: www.alltrails.com/trail/us/ar...
Desert Discovery Nature Trail: www.alltrails.com/trail/us/ar...
Signal Hill: www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/histor...
Valley View Overlook: www.alltrails.com/trail/us/ar...
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📷 See ALL of our gear: adventuresofaplusk.com/gear/
🚐 Our Van Life products: adventuresofaplusk.com/blog/v...
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Facebook: / adventuresofaplusk
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🌎 See everywhere we have been + view our blogs and travel guides:
adventuresofaplusk.com/
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👋🏼 About us
Hi y’all! We’re Adam, Kathryn, and Kona, an adventurous married couple (+ pup!) living on the road in our self-converted sprinter van! You can often find us driving all around the US and Canada, scoping out the best coffee shops, eating tacos and ice cream (we're a 5+ taco and 2+ scoop household), and enjoying nature.
We help travelers spend less time (and stress!) planning their trip and more time enjoying it! Our detailed travel guides, CZcams videos, and travel resources share the must-visit local eats, popular and off the beaten path sights, and tons of tips to make planning your next adventure a whole lot easier.
Note: We’ve linked a handful of items so you can see exactly which products we take with us. Full disclosure--if you click on these links and make a purchase, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. We will only ever recommend products we truly love, actually use during our adventures, and think you can benefit from too!
Follow our Journey to Alaska: czcams.com/play/PLZKRTK1yCEM5UxLKP3MI17m-syJkqYABj.html
Watch more Arizona vlogs: czcams.com/play/PLZKRTK1yCEM4fjn3KAt9kM4wmlYFClSiq.html
Our camera + hiking gear: adventuresofaplusk.com/gear/
I love the west park ❤🌵
Really good, great area. Tasty lunch. Great commentary. Note to southern AZ gardeners: plant a foot-tall saguaro in the lowest section of your yard/land and it'll grow quite noticeably, at least four inches a year.
Thanks for the video, much appreciate the views and putting up with the hike wind you encountered!
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!
So educational and enjoyable. Y’all have given me more ideas for stops on our road trips from Texas to California. Oh, and a new kind of taco to try!
Thank you Ruth! Glad we could give you some ideas!
we drove from El Paso, Texas to Los Angeles, California and took us only 11 hours+ and the scenery was GREAT!
Beautiful and amazing. Thank you for sharing.
This was one of my favorite visits -- it's beautiful, everywhere you look.
Thanks again. Growing up in Tucson hiking was always some of the most fun. You two just rock. Much love.
Another enjoyable Tucson video. So glad you got to visit us again. My wife is a Tucson native, I moved here in the 80's and we thoroughly enjoy living in Arizona.
Please visit again, late August towards the end of the monsoon when the cactus forest is in full glory, Saguaro East hikes like Douglas Spring and Tanque Verde Ridge at that time are among my favorites, there are many more.
Lots more great local eats your Tucson friends can recommend as well.
Ooof I remember those Arizona summers haha, definitely a trip we would have to do not in the van!
@@AdventuresofAplusK Our summers are a tad warmish. Monsoon season adds humidity and flash floods, still for many Tucsonans it is our favorite time of year.
Also doing the Cactus Forest trail is super pretty in Saguaro East.
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us through the west side of Saguaro NP.
Very nicely done thanks for your hard work and wind tolerance....thank you
Loving your adventures! You two are so refreshing and fun to watch. You just seem so honest and look like you are really enjoying yourselves. Thanks for sharing and keep it up please!
That means a lot Carol, thank you!
This video is totally awesome, love the cactus
Nice great adventure you guys!! Thanks for taking us along..beautiful scenery…
Very interesting and beautiful🌵Thank you!!
Great park glad you had fun.
Fantastic scenery, some just outstanding views. This video is small masterpiece. Love it!!!
Thanks for the kind words!
Oh, VIBE, is the new cool word!
so awesome. There is just something special about that park.
Love the uniqueness of the saguaros and seeing that light hit them 😍
I have to say that I have been enjoying your adventures! I too, have been given some new areas to visit. I appreciate your outlook during your travels, as such, that you are offering a great deal of information on the areas you visit, and the food reviews are the “icing on the cake.” The coffee shops are an added bonus, in my opinion. 😉Thank you for not going overboard on the self-help aspect and truly just giving us great views and places that we can add to our bucket lists! Safe travels.
We are glad you enjoy them! Thank you for watching!
Very nice video. I am now more prepared to visit there this weekend, can't wait. One tiny comment. The lady mentioned that its was a nice clear day so it should be a good sunset. Typically, the best sunsets are seen in skies with high and mid-level clouds like altocumulus and cirrus clouds.
Thanks for the info!
Very Educactational, indeed! 🌵 I know it’s a bad idea, but those Saguaros look so huggable. 🤙🏽
Hahahah it may be a painful hug! 😂
Absolutely spec-cati-lous scenery!! Thanks!!
Hahaha love it!
Love your vlogs. Cant beat the great combo of food and hikes. Looking forward to this journey. Have fun.
Thank you Mel! Lots of great hikes and food to come!
❤️thanks for all the great info.
Always fun to see Kona. Another great video.
So beautiful!
Great photography! Even the food.
One of my all time favs. At night you can watch the Milky Way. Cosmic!
Just wanted to say THANKS!!! You are doing such a wonderful job exploring and sharing your travels through such interesting and beautiful landmarks across the southwest. I worked at the Grand Canyon when I retired from AA, so I am especially enjoying AZ! Best wishes as you continue your journey out west!
Thank you so much Larry, that means a lot! How cool to work at the Grand Canyon! We hope to someday be able to get more involved with the NPS.
thanks for the video. i love the rugged beauty of the desert southwest 🌵🤠. God bless you both on your travels to Alaska!
Thank you!
Saguaros are such amazing plants, and this is a spectacular park! I enjoyed the hike up Wasson peak, amazing views, even though the wind was pretty wild. Nice to see Kona out on the Nature Discovery trail. We love Native American rock art, and those looked spectacular. What a great day, ending in a beautiful sunset!
We love seeing Native American history and art as well!
I’ve been loving all your travel adventures, and so educational too! Beautiful views of the mountains and trails. The little deer were so cute and also curious. You made me hungry with those delicious cactus tacos! 👍🏼😋 Thank you two for taking us along on some of your adventures! Happy and safe travels. 😊☺️🌵🌵🏜⛰
Thank you so much for following along Naomi! ❤️
OMG guys that wind!!! Fun to get up and then immediately leave! Don’t blame you at all. Love the patch! 🌵
One of the better patches we have gotten!
Love the Saguaro Cacti! We did not know that when the saguaro dies, the inside wood can be used for items...amazing!!! We thought the insides would be crumbly like a cracker. They live for so long...so interesting! Thank you for your video!
It’s so interesting to see the insides on the dead ones! It looks like little wooden poles!
@@AdventuresofAplusK Wow!
Good show, Arizona is a great place to visit..
It has so much to see and do!
I miss Arizona, especially Phoenix. It was a beautiful scenery driving through the state of Arizona.
It’s a gorgeous state!
@@AdventuresofAplusK it surely is, PERIOD!
Those cacti…the views…that wind…those tacos😋…so much good info…great job as always❣️
Have y’all been to this park?
No, we have not. ☹️🤗
Loved the Vid.
Guys, Saguaro East is where it is at.
You can travel to the east end of Speedway and park along the side of the road, then take the trail as far as you want to take it. The total length of the trail is over 15 miles with a total elevation gain of several thousand feet. If you take the rail to the top, you will travel above the saguaro growing line and end up in Pine and Aspens with the Douglas Spring being a fresh water source for drinking.
You can also choose to cut back and take many of the other trails out there. Pink Hill is fun to see after a rain.
Just subbed and can't wait for the next vid.
We enjoyed visiting the west side, but maybe we will check out east next time.
Loving your content! Been following you for some time - your videos are getting better and better! Didn’t know I wanted to learn about Saguaro cacti when I woke up this morning, but now so glad I did. Really appreciate all the research you add each time. Look forward to each upload. Way to go!!
Thank you Kara! We try really hard to make informative videos. Saguaros are very unique and cool cacti!
Hey from SATX! Loved the video! My boyfriend and I are headed to Saguaro this summer. Thanks for the video and tips. Can't wait!
Hey Alyssa! We hope y'all have a great time! Check out our website where we have a guide to visiting Saguaro that includes many more things to do that we couldn't fit in this video! adventuresofaplusk.com/the-best-things-to-do-in-saguaro-national-park-west/
Thanks and thanks for watching!
Another awesome vid! Love videos with excellent educactational value! 👍🏻
LOL! Thank you so much!
I loved this video. I look forward to seeing you each week!! This is such an amazing area . Those tacos looked yummy 😋 🌮❤
We are so glad you enjoyed it!
I love AZ and the Saguaro Cactus. I spent time on the MTB trail in Mesa. Those things are so majestic!
Yes they are!
Great video!! Love the journey 🌎🗺
Thank you Sarah!
Great Wasson peak video. I have looked at Wasson covered with snow in winter and it's beautiful.
That would be gorgeous!
Thanks for the very informative video , I leave here in Tucson for 29 years and I only visited the saguaro park once in the este side and once in the west side , and you did a great job on explaining it. 👍
Thank you!
Y’all do an outstanding job of providing really great information! Really enjoying your journey to Alaska vids!
Thank you so much Ashley!
Awesome video looks great
Thanks for the video. We were there a couple of weeks ago. We don't hike a lot, being 70+, and with a dog we only did the nature trail. Good to see the park from a different point of view.
It's definitely tricky to visit with a pup! Our first visit we only did one thing as well because we didn't have the van back then
Wonderful views. Saguaro is on my list the next time I'm in that part of Arizona. And I appreciated the slo-mo shots of the cooking!
We’re glad you enjoy those! Our new camera does amazing slo-mo and we are obsessed with using it haha
Another enjoyable, educational video…well done.
Thanks Mark!
Wonderful vlog guys!!! Arizona is beautiful…I enjoyed being educated on the cactus 🌵 You always share so much fun and helpful information! We may be going to Arizona this year so these vlogs are especially interesting!
Ooo which part of Arizona? There is SO much to do in the state!
@@AdventuresofAplusK It depends somewhat on what you guys recommend. We were thinking of Phoenix area.
That wind looked BRUTAL!!! Lovely hike though!
It was insane!
Another part of the country I haven't been to yet. Need to add it to my future travels. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching John!
🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵Loved it!!🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵
❤️🌵
Awesome video! I was just trying to decide where to go today. Thanks for the idea! 💡
We hope you have fun wherever you decide to go!
hello we love your travels and the beautiful parks you make us want to visit all of them. We did a cross country trip 40 years camped saw at least 7 national parks! Thanks for sharing the awesome views on hikes love the pup too!! and your foodie stops are great! Be safe hiking
That is awesome! Thanks for following along!
Thanks, You've given me some great ideas for my December trip to SNP.
We hope you have a great trip!
Great video -- The winds in AZ can make the hikes challenging at times ......especially at altitudes. Good job. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bob!
nice video good info I will try it maybe next week
We are following in your footsteps, heading to Saguaro West tomorrow!!! We enjoyed a Sonoran hot dog due to your recommendation and loved loved loved Mt. Lemmon. You have given us so many fabulous ideas, THANK YOU for all your hard work and beautiful content! ❤️
We are so happy to hear this! Have a great time tomorrow!
As always, great stuff! Cheers from HTX!
Thanks Kyle!
Just got around to watching, we're on a road trip too, and this looks very very interesting. Thanks for the glimpse of Saguaro NP. Until next time... Travel Safe.
Have a great trip!
Wow... We always get excited when we see a new A+K video to show up in CZcams. We subscribe to many CZcams channels and we must say your channel is the very best. Keep on doing the great work you both are doing. Great job with the cacti tacos.🌮 👏👏👏🙂 YUM!!!
That means a ton, thank you for watching!
Loved those binoculars, Adam! So creative to think of using cacti in a recipe. That was spec-cacti-ular!
😎😎 I love ‘em too! They were cactilicious!
I’m so glad you mentioned why some had branches and others didn’t. I was wondering that right before you said it! Great video as always! I try to watch a couple of your videos every evening. Not sure what I’m gonna do when I catch up!
We plan to start cranking out 2 a week starting this week! So lots to come!
Hello Adventurers😊😊😊, I was SUPER STOKED to see that AWESOME footage of your hikes through Sagauro National Park. Happy to see that Kona got to enjoy his walk too. I have now decided for my September road trip...New Orleans, so I can finally say that I have visited all of the Lower 48 states, then to San Antonio, and to Big Bend, Guadalupe, Carlsbad Caverns...and who knows😄😄, I might make a beeline to a certain place😄😄😄😄. I really enjoyed this video. I hope y'all take some time and enjoy Valentines Day👍👍👍👍!
Very nice!!! That will be an awesome trip! Lots of cool things to see along the way 🙌🏼
Another great episode...loved the views. I bet it was a little chilly with that wind blowing the way it was, goodness!!
I love Phoenix, can't wait for the episode...Sky Harbor AP can kick sand though!! My cousin used to live in Buckeye, which is a moment or two west of Phoenix, nice little town.
It felt kind of nice! The sun gets so hot!
Thanks for helping ease my homesickness. I could see my old house in a few shots of your video.
No way!
@@AdventuresofAplusK my front yard basically butted up against the park on the picture rocks side. Signal hill was a frequent picnic spot. Especially on the solstices. Enjoy your adventures.
Thanks for this entertaining and educational video. I’ve lived in Arizona for most of my life and have yet to explore the Southern region of the state. Definitely going to check out these hikes.
Sooo much to do down there!
Subscribed. Love your energy! Love your knowledge! Especially love how you embrace everywhere you go. Gonna catch up on your past videos and virtually travel with you on your adventure! AZ native!
Thank you so much Luis, we appreciate the kind words!
What a cool place! I just love how diverse the topography is in the US! I always wonder if the deer get as much of a kick out of us as we do of them? So beautiful!!! I had no idea people ate🌵! See you on the next one! Be safe!
They seemed super interested in us!
We've been watching every single one of your videos from France and so I guess we do qualify as huge fans 😍 ! We discovered you guys as I was searching infos on southern Idaho and got addicted ever since ! We do try to plan a roadtrip every year to the US and you are a big source of inspiration for us. Next one is in august, 5 weeks in California, Oregon and Washington and I'm looking forward to follow your adventures up to Alaska which is on our bucket list too ! We love the same stuff, nature and food. Take care 😉
Thank you so much for watching! Your trip this year sounds amazing and we hope to give you some ideas with our videos this year!
@@AdventuresofAplusK I'm sure you will and we're looking forward to watch your adventures !
Soooo many prickly and pokey things in this video!
We are happy they didn’t get us!
Never knew this national park existed! We love all of your videos, so informative and great quality! We found you guys a few months ago and love your channel, instagram, and website. We are taking a trip to Washington this summer so I've been reading up on your Washington blogs on your website and they are giving me some great ideas!
Thank you so much for watching and reading, it means a lot! Washington is our favorite and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
What a timely video. We're going to fly to Phoenix, drive to the Silver City/Gila, NM area, drive back (hit Tombstone and Fort Huachuca along the way) to SAGUARO National Park. I just got the tickets, rental car, and hotel yesterday. I wasn't planning to hike too much at Saguaro but this video sealed the deal. We're going up. Thanks.
That is awesome! Definitely do Wasson Peak!
I agree with other comments that your videos are fantastic. You are professionals. We are planning a trip to Alaska this summer after I recover from April knee replacement. You are my inspiration.
Thank you so much Judith!
We’re gonna be in Arizona do some hiking in a few weeks, so we are watching your videos closely for places to check out. Thanks for taking us along on the adventures!
Our next video will include some pretty awesome hiking views!
What part? I live in the greater Tucson area so I can give you some tips for great hikes.
We are flying into Phoenix and spending a week doing a loop around the state. We plan to do Flatiron on Phoenix and then move on from there. We would just have one day in Tucson, so whatever is the rockstar hike, we are down for…
@@papajon62 if your going to do Flatiron ( white and blue dots are your friend after siphon draw) then you will want to hit Picacho peak on your way to Tucson on the I10. I think Picacho is one of the better hikes if you like Mountain View’s
@@bgood188 Bob, thanks for the beta!
I’ve been to that one a while back very hard, but great views
My backyard for most of my life I miss it so.
Love to watch your wonder peoples travels to get ideas of what spots to hit up for our travels. I love seeing you explore my home state! Too bad you guys didn't come later in the year for when all the cacti start to bloom. Still a cool adventure, and can't wait to see your adventures in Phx my home state! Go Suns!! ;)
We would’ve loved to see that! But definitely can’t handle much warmer of temps in the van than during our visit.
@@AdventuresofAplusK True! It does get excessively hot too early in the year here. Maybe one day!
Also, if you ever come back or have time this visit and want a nice sub shop to hit up, go to Captain Bills Submarine on 35th Ave and Peoria. The shop is really cool and thrifty looking, and the food is great!
went there 2007 at spring when they were in Bloom white flowers on top .
those tacos look so good!!!! also i recently discovered your channel and i love it, so inspiring!
Thank you so much for following along!
We were there visiting my birthplace and home town of Tucson from our current home in Michigan the same time you were there. There were quite a few windy days this past February but the deep blue sky and interesting desert landscape kinda make up for the occasional challenges. Thanks for doing such a great job with your videos. They are profesional, friendly and informative with great videography and pleasant narration.Well done and please keep it up!
Subscribed!
TJ
Thank you so much, TJ! We remember those windy days! Tucson and Saguaro are amazing places! Thank you for subscribing and thanks for watching!
7:10 amazing
🙌🏼
Great video from your hike! Now I want to visit!!! 😜
Those tacos did look “spec-cact-u-par”! 🤣
😜
North of Saguaro East is Mt Lemmon Scenic drive. Definitely worth a day.
The 21 mile drive at Organ Pipe is also worth the trip. Hike Bull Canyon trail.
Chiricahua National Monument is a great hiking area too.
We filmed Mt Lemmon and Chiricahua in our last two videos 😃
@@AdventuresofAplusK lol, probably released when I was in AZ visiting those sites. I'll check them out.
Did a drive through 30 years ago on 2 wheels. Doing the walks were not an option. Really enjoyed the walks with the 3 of you. When on a 3 week vacation from Ohio you have to see a lot in a short time. Was "speccactulas".!! 👍👍🏍🏍🏍🙋♂️
Hahahahaha nailed it!!
WOW I have to try those tacos those look amazing
We put the recipe in the description! The biggest change is we added tons of spices
@@AdventuresofAplusK okay what was the spice you used? And do you just break off the cheese and sprinkle over the tacos? I hope you didn’t already answer (tried to scroll through 1st but didn’t see) I’m always looking for when you make food. Thank you for your effort in producing videos. We try to incorporate your itinerary when in area.
We used the typical taco seasoning spices, like cumin, chili powder, cayenne, etc.
Born and raised in Tucson never been there. Lol 😂
Wow!
Maybe I'll go next weekend, drove through it a whole lot
I moved to Tucson back in 2014 and I was actually completely shocked but how do many locals don't do any outdoor activities. AZ is definitely the place to be when coming to outdoor activities.
I do a lot of outdoors stuff, just have not done that one in particular. Mt. Lemon tumamoc, Madera canyon , seven falls and many more just never that park.
Broken record I know, but those deer at the start were SO adorable... and as for you Kathryn "Bye guys, stay safe" 🤣 Shame about the winds at the top of Wasson Peak, but thankfully the trail up gave stunning views - great thing about cacti is they can't block much of the views! Gotta confess, I've never eaten cactus before. I didn't even know it was something edible until I saw some being sold in a supermarket in Moab a few years back - they were in the fresh fruit and veg section and was curious, but wouldn't have known how to prep it. I do like green beans though so many one to try next time I'm in the South West US. Looking forward to your Phoenix vlog. I expect you've probably filmed it already, but if on the off chance you haven't, and you're headed to Scottsdale, I would highly recommend Karsen's Grill. I still to this day dream of their sweet potato fries that were tossed in sugar and cinnamon. It was more like eating a dessert rather than a side. We also thought their customer service was some of the best we've ever had, but appreciate coming from a couple of Brits this may not mean too much! 🤷♀
The deer were precious! We stood and stared at each other a solid 5 minutes. ❤️ Cactus is pretty tasty! I had only had it once before I believe and it kind of reminds me of a roasted green bell pepper too. The canned stuff is kind of weird and smells slightly vinegary, but it's much easier than getting the needles off yourself.
We did leave Phoenix already and focused on just one experience there, but those fries sound heavenly!
Look at that cutie little intro 😊
😍🥰
Weavers needle via Fremont Saddle, was the best views i have ever done. Flat Iron and 5057 were great views too, but honestly Weavers Needle was my fave of the 3
It’s an epic spot!
I’m a new subscriber here. I ran across your video when you came to Houston. Anyway, just wanted to say I’m truly enjoying your videos. Just incredible!!! 🚐🌵👍🏿
Thank you so much! It means a ton and we're glad to have you along for the ride!
Saguaro is otherworldly, cool fit in Tuscon. One other cool place with Saguaro's is the Tonto National Forest. From high pine forest (with snow in winter), it declines to drier desert forest, then to a Sauro region just like Sauro park, then right to Scottsdale. It also feeds towards Sedona.
We explored some of that national forest while in Phoenix!
Your high-quality digital vids looking stunning on my Sony OLED A80J! 🧐😎😁
Heck ya! 😎
If you ever find yourself coming thru Tucson again stop by the Southern Arizona Heritage and Visitor's Center at the Old Pima County Courthouse. You'll find a lot more information about area hikes and things to do.
Love your videos in Tucson! Please explore California soon!! ❤️
Tons of California videos to come!
@@AdventuresofAplusK 😆❤️😍 Yayyyyyyyyy! I just watched your 2022 plans video!! Glad you'll be coming through California on your way to Alaska!!
well done photos of Saguaro NP. You did a super job capturing the Park. Gilbert Ray campground is my favorite.
Does the Visitor Center still have a informative video with a great ending?
Thanks so much for sharing your travels.
The visitor center was partially closed unfortunately, so we only made it to the gift shop!