The trip to Saguaro National Park has been one of the highlights of my stay in Arizona. I hiked in the Tuscon Mountain Unit on the west side of Tucson, the smaller of the two units that comprise the park. Rincon Mountain Unit is just east of Tucson. The two units are actually separated by the city of Tucson and together they protect more than 90,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert and thousands of saguaros.

I love the Sonoran desert region. I love the desert surrounded by mountains. On some winter days, you can stand on the fringe of the desert, look into the mountains, and see the peaks covered with snow.

When I hiked in Saguaro NP, I stopped for a while along the trail. There was no other person in sight, just me and the cacti, the jackrabbits, and a pack of four or five coyotes that sprinted across an arroyo a hundred feet away. I stood there, the sun warming me when it appeared, but there was a fairly heavy cloud cover and the desert light seemed to flicker off and on.

I put my camera in my backpack, and just stood there in silence, listening, watching. I became intensely aware of this “place”. The desert is very grounding for me. I felt very solid and strong, standing in its midst, surrounded by this expanse of land.

The desert is by no means a desolate area. My photographs are a testimony to the wealth and diversity of the many growing plants, the contours of the land, the occasional bird or animal flushed from its daytime resting place. I stood near several saguaros, all at least twice as tall as me, all like poles. They had not yet sprouted any arms.

Suddenly I peered at my feet. I thought for a moment I had sunk into the earth, I felt that connected with this desert.

But no, I was standing just as you would expect. I shook off the feeling, and laughed a bit at my sudden fancy. But I do, feel a strong connection with this land, with this whole region. I don’t know exactly what that is all about, but I’m going to keep exploring and I’ll pay close attention to what happens.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”  And she is discovering more than she had anticipated.