Travel Log: Glamping & Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Are you a fan of camping or glamping? Camping has great benefits, such as enabling you to unplug and really get out to enjoy areas like our national parks. However, camping also has its downsides like basically sleeping on the ground and less than ideal bathrooms or showers (if at all). Glamping, on the other hand, provides the same benefits as camping plus real beds and hot showers. If you couldn't tell, I am a big fan of glamping and was super excited when one of my girlfriends suggested that we check out an Arizona Under Canvas location in December. This is not a sponsored post--we paid for our stay and we chose this particular location due to its proximity to Saguaro National Park. Glamping in Arizona provided the perfect opportunity to (mostly) unplug while enjoying comfortable king size beds, wood burning stoves, and the gorgeous landscape with legit restrooms and showers only steps away. Please read on for more photos and details of our gals' glamping weekend in Tucson, Arizona.

Long Cardigan: Petal & Pup, current version here
Dress: old, similar here or here
Knee-High Boots: Vince Camuto, exact style here or current version here
Fedora: old, currently loving and just ordered this one
Sunglasses: exact here

Packing for a glamping trip is basically the same as packing for a weekend trip with a hotel stay, so I was able to pack a series of outfits for a sunny winter weekend getaway including this adorable dress + long cardigan combo. This glamping location provided not only the tents and furniture, but also wood stoves for heat, battery powered lanterns and fans, and battery pack chargers for phones and other devices. Everything was so comfortable and set up for guests to be able to sit back and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings.

The tents were set up facing a canyon filled with saguaro catci, and the area was so gorgeous that we couldn't help but take a bunch of photos! I also was loving the sunshine and 70 degree temperatures in December...this is exactly why I travel during the winter to escape Seattle rain and snow.

This particular glamping site was located on a ranch outside of Tucson called Tanque Verde Ranch Resort. Under Canvas presumably rented a section of the ranch for the glamping site, a short drive from the main ranch building but far enough away to feel like you were alone under the stars. We arrived shortly after sunset, checked in, and then were driven up to our tents by golf cart. The main reception tent was staffed 24 hours a day in case guests needed anything, such as a fire in the wood stove in your tent, help to schedule activities, or restocking the smores bar at the common area. How awesome is that?

The next morning, we woke before dawn to explore the area and watch the sunrise. The glamping site was surrounded by different types of cacti: saguaro, prickly pear, and barrel to name a few. It was so peaceful and pretty to walk on the trails early in the morning, and don't get me started on how gorgeous the moon looked overhead! Don't forget to bring layers if you visit Arizona in the winter--during the day the temperatures were in the low 70's, but at night and early in the morning it was in the upper 40's. Not freezing by any means, but definitely hat/gloves/sweater weather.

During our glamping weekend, we also drove into Saguaro National Park East and Saguaro National Park West (the park is split into two sections) to learn more about these giant cacti that only grow in the Sonoran Desert that covers part of Arizona and Mexico. I did not realize before visiting that it takes at least 70 years for a cactus to start to grow an arm, and that a mature cacti at its full height of 45 feet or more is around 200 years old! No one knows why some cacti have a multiple arms and some have none, but a cactus without arms is called a spear. Saguaro National Park is one of the newer national parks (established in 1994), and we only saw a few other people in the park during our December visit. Support our national parks and visit the smaller ones!

I greatly enjoyed this glamping trip and visit to Saguaro National Park, and would absolutely recommend to anyone who wanted to visit the same locations. However, we learned during our stay that the investment company who controls Under Canvas decided to close the Tucson location without much notice. The staff had originally been hired for the full season (October through May), but were all scrambling to find new jobs when they learned that the camp was suddenly closing at the end of December. Root cause sounded like not enough visitors--they were booked up during the weekends but weekdays were a challenge--and that the investment company was thinking about moving the tents to a location with more traffic such as Sedona. I am thankful that we were able to visit while Under Canvas Tucson was in operation, and will definitely keep an eye out for where they pop up next.

Have you ever gone glamping? If so, be sure to leave a comment to let me know where you went and whether you would recommend it! I hope you enjoyed this travel log, and that you have a wonderful week!

Linking up with Curly Crafty Mom, Doused in Pink, I Do deClaire, Not Dead Yet Style, Not Dressed as a Lamb, Straight A Style, The Fashion Canvas, Walking in Memphis in High Heels