After some debate and discussion we decided to take the 81 mile drive to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It was a beautiful day and a quick ride with the speed limit between 70 & 75 mph.
We had to pass through two border patrol stops on the way into the Monument. The border of Mexico is only seven miles away so they are on patrol all the time.
Along the way we saw many shires set up for those people who died in auto accidents. Out here there is no restrictions of what families can place at the scene. The shrines range from small to very large with multiple decorations.
Ron and I are always very curious as to how so many people die on such a straight , flat road.
We also spotted a plane in the middle of the desert! This area is home to an Air Force gunnery range training ground.
Driving through the town of Ajo we spotted multiple businesses selling Mexico Trip Insurance. Some places had drive through windows to purchase your insurance.
We arrived at the national park around Noon and watched the video presentation explaining the monument.
The monument was closed from 2003 until 2014 due to safety issues. See link below – very interesting reading.
After 11 years, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ...
www.hcn.org/.../after-12-years-organ-pipe-national-..
We opted to take the 21 mile Ajo Mountain Drive Loop.
Along the loop we stopped to view different varieties of native cacti.
Organ Pipe Cactus is human friendly with the fruit of the cactus made into sweet jams. This organ pipe has an abnormal growth on an arm growing out of the center of the cactus. It is called a “crest” and can occur in almost any plant species. No one is really sure why this occurs but it is very pretty.
Further along the trail we encounter the Teddy Bear Cholla cactus. They get their name because they look fuzzy and cute. However, looking carefully they have millions tiny hooked spines genetically designed to attach to anything that gets close!
After finishing our 21 mile Ajo Mountain Loop we headed down another dirt road looking for another point of interest. The Mexican border is to our left marked with a fence made of railroad tracks that traverse over the top of a mountain.
We almost drove into Sonora, Mexico by mistake stopping at the border. We didn’t have our passports with us so that would not have worked out so well.
It was a great road trip but then back to the CG. We opted to check out the local neighborhood for a restaurant and chose an Italian place to eat. Before going to dinner we stopped at the MH and took Jewel for her much needed walk.
I know we are in the heart of Arizona with Mexican restaurants everywhere but decided on Italian. The food was excellent and we had plenty of leftovers for the next night.
Tomorrow it is on to Quartzsite. Not sure what we will encounter but have to try the desert boon docking at least once in our travels.
0 comments:
Post a Comment