That's where you'll find the only place in the United States where organ pipe cactus grow naturally, inside of the 516 square miles, or 330,689 square acres, of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
You may remember we spent 7-nights here just 50 short weeks ago. This time we'll enjoy 16-nights (they have a 21-day limit per visit) and will revisit all the places we enjoyed last year, plus visit for the first time several places we just didn't find time to do previously.
If you were paying close attention to the photos you will have noticed that ROVER's hood is propped open, just like our neighbor's truck in the previous photo. This is a precautionary thing people do when camped out in the desert.
It's not uncommon for pack rats to make a nest in dark and secluded spaces, like underneath the hood of a truck that's been parked for several days. For that reason most campers will leave their hoods open to let in sunlight and encourage the rats to find somewhere else to build their home. In addition to building nests, the rats like to chew through the wiring of your vehicle which is the real problem you'll want to avoid!
In all of our time here we've never seen a rat, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
First up on our list is to check out Alamo Canyon up in the northern section of the Monument.
I should also mention that there was a Park Ranger there and he didn't seem bothered by the fact they weren't camping in tents.
While THE POD would definitely fit in two of the four sites I don't think we'll ever bring it out here, but should we ever downsize to a Class B van we've got another place I'd like to camp.
These sites are very popular this time of year and are occupied most nights. There is a 7-night limit at Alamo Canyon Campground, unlike the 21-day limit at the much larger Twin Peaks Campground where we are currently camped.
ALAMO CANYON DRIVE
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Three miles away at the base of those mountains is the Alamo Canyon Campground.
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The gravel road was is pretty good shape and wide enough to pass oncoming traffic.
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About halfway to the campground we passed this solar powered emergency beacon.Instructions say to press the red button on the base and wait for rescue personnel to arrive.
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This backdrop is the Ajo Range which includes the 4808' tall Mount Ajo.
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There were numerous Organ Pipe Cactuses along the short drive.
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This Cholla Cactus has micro-barbs on the spikes making them painful to remove.
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This "leafed out" Ocotillo looks very much alive after yesterday's rains.
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This one next to it looks dead, but it too is very much alive.It just didn't need to "leaf out" to absorb yesterday's rain.
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More of the "unique to this location" Organ Pipe Cactus.
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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has more saguaro cactuses than Saguaro National Park.It's the "density" of saguaros that make Saguaro National Park a special place.
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The view from Campsite #2 at Alamo Canyon Campground.|
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After our drive up to the northern region of the Monument we drove all the way down to the southern boundary of the park at the Mexican border.
Here you find the small town of Lukeville, AZ (pop. 35) that includes a U.S. Post Office, a Duty Free Store that specializes in perfumes, alcohol and tobacco products, plus a Gastrak gas station with a convienence store.
Here's the "fun fact"! Gastrak's Corporate Headquarters are located at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, FL. That's literally "down the street" (1.6 miles) from where I lived for 30 years (1980-2010). I passed by this big glass building everyday on my way to work for 21 years (1987-2008).
It's located behind a bowling alley (which is no longer there) where I bowled several times a week for decades (1969-1992). As a matter of fact, there wasn't even a building there in 1969, it was a small trailer park where Ron (the bowling alley mechanic) lived.
along the border to the location of the Gachado Line Camp.
When the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was established in 1937 the Grays had been grazing their cattle on the public lands for over 17-years. With the support of then Senator Carl Hayden the Grays recieved a permit to use the land for grazing 550 head of cattle. Yet several years later when the National Park Service surveyed the size of the herd it was 1600+.
It took the Department of the Interior over 25-years to terminate the Grays grazing permit. Even without a valid permit the Grays continued grazing cattle on the Monument for another 8-years until the last living member of the Grays family passed.
Two years later the National Park Service rounded up 1700 head of cattle to finally be removed, but the ecological damage of long-term overgrazing was already done.
The road continues for another 3-miles passed the line camp, but is closed to the public, as we immediately found out. We only drove about 50' beyond a "Road Closed" sign that I saw off on the shoulder to snap this photo of The Wall that separates the United States and Mexico.
It was when I was backing up that I saw a Border Patrol vehicle coming in from my left, so I stopped moving and waited for them to clear the intersection so I could leave. Of course that's not what they did, they stopped in front of me and opened their doors to exit the vehicle.
As they approached I rolled down the windows and prepared for the questions to start. Two young (maybe 25-30 year old) agents told us the road was closed and it wasn't a safe time to be out here? I thanked them and asked why the road closed sign wasn't in the middle of the road to make it more apparent that the road was indeed closed at this time.
They stated the sign had been moved to the side so they could easily pass. My thoughts were, "So you're both too lazy to have one of you get out and pick up the sign, while the other drives the vehicle passed it, then put the sign back in the proper place".
Luckily, this time my thoughts remained inside my head and did not escape my mouth!
It turned out that Tricia received a "private tour" with the Ranger because she was the only one there at 9:00AM when the hike was scheduled to start.
DESERT VIEW TRAIL
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The trailhead is over in the group camping area parking lot.
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That's a larger than average organ pipe cactus next to the trail.
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In the far background you can see The Wall and the Mexican town of Sonoyta.
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The trail continues upward on the side of the mountain.
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There is plenty of Teddy Bear Cholla along the trail to avoid.
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From the trail you can see the trailers in the campground...
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...along with some really large organ pipe cactus.
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This is what the skeleton of a dead saguaro looks like.
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If it doesn't rain in the next couple weeks this ocotillo will shed it's leavesand go back into a dormant stage to retain the water it needs to survive.
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