TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The 250th birthday for the United States is a time to celebrate all of the things that make our nation such a great place to live. More specifically showing our little corner of the country here in "State 48."
Our National Park System is a shining example of that what brings the world here to the desert.
"There's something special about being at a place that's been designed for protection of the landscape and animals and the cultures that are so important, not to just this area, but to Tucson as a whole, to the southwest as a whole, to the entire Sonoran Desert as a whole," Julie Thompson with Western National Parks told me.
There's certainly something special but nothing new about what you might call the old growth stands of towering saguaro cacti in Southern Arizona.
"I can't believe I get to live here. I can't believe I get to experience these amazing landscapes," Julie said.
But she knows what nearly a million annual visitors find out again and again at our twin tourist destinations on either side of Tucson.
"The centuries that have passed that you've survived, it's like you're standing with just this wise presence and you can feel it."
"There's so much to experience and it really is a place where people of all walks of life and all lived experiences can come together and find something that brings us together," Julie said.
Her organization is the force behind visitors centers and shared experiences at national parks across the country.
"Then here is your temporary membership card thank you so much for supporting the parts and happy trails. Have fun thank you."
These areas attract anyone looking to explore national spaces that are pretty hard to put into words, especially here among the mighty saguaros, the "old fathers" of native tradition.
"I had no idea there would be this many. I thought it would be a few here and there but I didn't think it would be like this"
Tosha Daugherty has visited 33 national parks.
"We've done every single one in Utah, every single one in Colorado, Acadia, we've gone to Maine," Tosha told me.
"it's the stickers and the stamps."
Tammy and David Foster are from Virginia and they road trip all the time to those special places marked on the map.
"We try to hit as many national parks as we can... Just showing that future generation what's out there; how important it is to preserve it," Tammy said.
Patriots looking to explore parks from coast to coast make up a large number of tourists here but international visitors are certainly welcome.
"When you come from another country and you get something called a monster from southern Arizona, you will remember your trip, right?"
Julie showed me the Gila Monster plushies that line the gift shop filled with books and other collectibles. As America celebrates two and a half centuries, some of these cacti are reaching for the same ripe old age.
But how can you tell just how ancient these saguaros really are?
"It's called the Saguaro Census. So every ten years they go out with volunteers from the community because it's an enormous job and they count the saguaros," Julie told me.
That census shows that the number of saguaros has grown every decade by an impressive amount but it's tricky to keep tabs, seeing as how the first 10 to 15 years of a young cactus's life are spent beneath the protection of a mesquite or palo verde or other nurse trees at a height of maybe an inch and a half.
"They seem like they're all unique. You know and each one of them has its own little shape or story I'm sure," David said.
With arms held high in celebration, Saguaro National Park, both East and West, want you to share in this vision of a protected, sustainable future for another 250 years.
"You can spend an hour. You can spend a day. You can spend seven days. You're going to get something so good out of it," Julie said.
Visit Saguaro National Park for more information
