Organ Pipe National Monument

Whew!  It has been a busy, busy week, full of all sorts of Christmas-y type activities.  One not so Christmas-y activity was going to Organ Pipe National Monument with my niece.  I had never been there before and it was high on my list of things to do before moving.  Google maps said it took 2 1/2 hours to drive there.  In reality it took 3!  Six hours is a long time to drive in one day just to see some cactus!  However, I thought it was worth it (because cacti are awesome!) though I wish I had more time in the park.  We were only there for about four hours.  There is a 21 mile scenic drive on a graded dirt road.  It took us over 2 hours to drive it at about 10 mph.  Halfway through we stopped and did the 2 mile Arch Canyon trail.  Then we were on our way.  It was about a twelve hour day.  Here are the pictures of our adventure.

At first, it looked just like Saguaro National Park and I was a little disgruntled.  I had not driven 3 hours to see Saguaro; I can see that 5 minutes from my house!

But then I saw my first Organ Pipe cactus (not true, I had seen them here and there in Arizona) and I was a happy camper.  This is the most highly concentrated area in the world to see Organ Pipe cactus.  There is also a sister park in Mexico that works with Organ Pipe NP to preserve the biome.  The border of Mexico is only seven miles from the visitor center.

Some close up shots of an Organ Pipe.  I like them because they are cactus and because they are unique (they are unique because they are cactus!).

Some of the Organ Pipe cacti really look like organ pipes, standing straight and tall.  But then there are these curvy ones which I think are gorgeous.  It is so unique to see these wavy arms.  I loved it and this was the first time I had ever seen this variety of Organ Pipe cactus.

A scenic view.  Almost all the Saguaro's were tall and skinny; it was rare to see a fat, healthy Saguaro.  

Here is a crowned Organ Pipe cactus.  You can see the crowning in the center.  On Saguaro's the crowning is on the very tip of the cactus.  On Organ Pipe's it is in the middle as you can see here.  I had no idea that this happened to other cactus.  

Another gorgeous cactus.  These stand about 14 feet tall. 

Here is the beginning of the Arch Canyon trail, aptly named for the double arch at the top of the mountain.  The top arch looks quite delicate but it still counts as an arch.  The trail did not lead to these arches; it led behind them and you couldn't see them up close.  

Here is a baby Organ Pipe cactus.  It is approximately 20 years old.  

There was this odd rainbow ring around the sun that my niece noticed so I took a few pictures of it since my camera can do more decorative shots then a phone can.  Here is the blacked out photo.

And here you can see more of the mountain and scenery.  It was very pretty.  

That yellow sign is warning us of smugglers.  Yes, this close to Mexico, the United States is very worried about drug (and other?) smuggling.  There are even surveillance cameras throughout the park to make sure there's no illegal activity.  Normally I would be okay going to a National Park alone, but I didn't want to go here and hike alone.  Luckily we saw no questionable activities though we did go through about six border patrol stations on our way there and back. 

At the apex of our hike.  We climbed around and ate snacks and took pictures before heading back.

A forest of Organ Pipe cacti.  Yay!

And I always want to get my picture at the entrance to a new park, so here I am.  The sun was setting right behind the sign so we had to get it at an angle.  I can recommend going to this park but I would recommend camping overnight if you can.  They have camp sites at the park.  The town of Ajo is about 15 miles away and has two restaurants that we could see.  We went to the burger joint (I don't know if it even had a name) and wolfed down our food.  It was delicious, maybe because it was a 3pm lunch or maybe because it was delicious.  All in all, I'm glad I was able to experience this less traveled part of the world.