Today we went about 25 miles south on AZ-85 to Organ Pipe National Monument. The monument is named for a distinctive type of cactus that grows only there on this side of the border. There are lots of them in Mexico, specifically in the area referred to as the Sonoran Desert.
We started at the visitor center where we picked up some maps and bought some of the national park / monument postcards we have decorated the Invader’s innards with before we watched a short movie about the area. After a short stop at the restrooms (at our age, passing available restrooms is unwise), we hopped back into Charlotte for spin on Ajo Mountain Drive, a 21-mile loop road through the monument. As soon as we left AZ-85, the road turned to dirt and gravel and sometimes big stones. Fortunately, not many folks use this one-way road so the only vehicle we saw during our exploration was one Ranger vehicle. We went very slowly because the road is crummy and the scenery is spectacular.
At the beginning, we saw few organ pipe cacti but as we continued more and more were visible from the truck. The flora in this place has to be very tenacious because this is a very harsh land and does not suffer fools. Without a couple gallons of water, humans are going nowhere and will soon die. All the plants have rotten taste or chemical defenses or very nasty spines or a combination of the three. Other than cacti, there are palo verde trees (no leaves most of the time), mesquite trees (nasty spines), ocotillos (very prickly) and some hardy flowering shrubs (shitty taste). The organ pipe cacti sort of look like saguaros without arms growing in clumps with pointy defenses.
We drove past 3 separate arches in the rock areas of the loop. We did not expect them, particularly the big one which must have been about 30 feet high and maybe 50 feet across with a big nothing in the middle. The terrain is tortured by the elements but is very unique and quite stunning. The loop road takes visitors through and around some small mountain ranges over surfaces that resist fast driving and it took us better than two hours to complete the loop.
This monument has some very pretty scenery but wandering away from the road is quite likely to be fatal either from dehydration or blood loss from wandering amongst the well-defended plants. Charlotte did a great job keeping us cool, traversing the terrain and getting us back out. This monument is adjacent to the U.S. / Mexico border so on the drive back to Ajo we got to stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint in the desert but we were sent on our way quite quickly.
This is a pretty extraordinary place but if I ever return, I would prefer to be riding in a very well armored 4 wheel drive to traverse the dirt monument roads. There are no paved roads here except the road to the monument campground. This area suffers from a substantial illegal immigration impact although it is hard to believe anybody would select this country to cross on their way anywhere. We did note where some folks have left water for the crossers, if they make it this far. The monument has signs warning visitors that human smuggling is prevalent here and to be aware of the dangers of encountering desperate folks, their guides, snakes, poisonous critters and treacherous terrain. We had a great time but I wouldn’t want to walk through this part of the world.