The time we spent with our tour guide, Bob, in the desert was the highlight of our 7 day stay in Tucson. (And just let me say, we had a great time the entire week!). Bob (and Danny---not sure if he is a guide also, he didn't talk as much, but appeared to know plenty!) met us at The Westin La Paloma where we were staying, and drove us to the 6000 acre Cattle Ranch in The Rincon Valley where they give their amazing and informative tours.
We were shown the various types of cacti on the ranch, which parts were edible, which plants the natives had used for 'smoke baths' which made good soap, antiseptic, glue... Bob reminded me of Les Stroud (who apparently spent a week in the Sonoran desert on a recent episode of Survivorman) I was amazed at how much he knew about the history of the land, the plants, the animals... I don't think there was a question we asked that Bob or Danny couldn't answer. They even brought along Rosie, a live tarantuala (he kept her well hidden in a secure little container, and I only held her because I chose to---my mom kept herself at a good distance) a wonderful interactive aide!
We spent 4 hours with Bob and Danny and they were wonderful. Native American blankets were provided for our comfort (it was a cold, windy day), we were given bottled water and were offered more, but had brought along our own snacks. We saw petroglyphs on the rocks made by the Native Americans who lived on the land long ago, and were able to see shards of native pottery Bob has found over the past 10 years he has been working in the desert for Trail Dust Jeep Tours. Danny took pictures of us with Bob, and Bob made sure we had a photo op at The Giant Saguaro Cactus---GIANT!!
This adventure truly was the highlight of our trip. We were 100% happy with the entire experience. It was well worth the $$ spent . If you only do one thing while in Tucson, make it a desert jeep tour with Trail Dust Jeep Tours. I am sure all their guides are good, but I KNOW Bob is terrific! Their website shows all the options they have...it looks like they offer incredible large group tours as well. read more