Thursday, February 16, 2017

ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT

Friday, February 10 - We headed about 20 miles south this morning from our campground in Why, AZ to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Our first stop was the Visitor's Center where we watched a 15 minute video about the park and talked about different hikes with the park ranger.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument


















This is the cactus the park in named after.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument



















We decided on Victoria Mine trail. It is a 4.5 mile trail that is rated as easy. We must be feeling our age because we both felt moderate would be a better rating.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument


















Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument



















It crosses several washes and is a series of  short uphill and downhill switches.

One of many washes.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument



















Beautiful scenery all around.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument



















Blooming Ocotillo.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument



















We had to ask this guy directions, but had no idea which direction he was telling us to go.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument


















Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

















The hike ends at Victoria Mine, home of one of the oldest historic sites on the monument grounds. The old mine shafts are covered with steel grating to prevent entrance and to protect the bat population living within the mine. The ruins of the miner's house remain at the sight.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument


















Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument


















Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

























We paused at the mine for a small snack before beginning our return hike back to the trailhead. According to our I-phone apps we covered a total of about 5.5 miles, 15,984 steps and were on the trail about 3 hours. It was in the high 80's by the time we reached the parking lot, so we were happy to be off the trail.

We were within five miles of the Mexican border, so Paul wanted to drive down to see the current wall. We had to drive two miles down a washboard dirt road to reach the border.

The Wall



















Surprisingly, we did not see any Border Patrol, but they probably knew we were there. The wall was a steel mesh and about 12 feet high.

Can you see it going all the way up the mountain?
The Wall

The Wall



















Mexico.
Mexico



















We then returned to the desert along AZ Highway 85 in search of Crested Saguaro cactus. The brochure we obtained at the Visitor's Center calls them Cristate Saguaro cactus. (What do you think, Pam?) They are called Cristates because they often resemble the crests found in medieval times. This anomaly is rare but can be found on cactus scattered across the Southwestern United States. We found three today. Yea for us!

Cristate Saguaro
Cristate Saguaro



















This one was right along HWY 85.
crested cactus

crested cactus



















Bella even enjoys looking for crested saguaro and found one!
Bella




















We returned home to the Hickiwan Trails RV park to find a welcoming crowd of donkeys “honking” are arrival. They were right by the front gate having visited the pond behind the casino. Funny!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

12 comments:

  1. How long are you there as we are now 10 miles north in Ajo!

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  2. Those are incredible cactus especially the crested. Thanks for sharing some really good pics. I imagine y'all were pretty worn out after such a full day.

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  3. We found both of those beautiful crested saguaro:) I beleive there at least three along the road from the RV park to Organ Park. Make sure you get the detailed directions for all the crested cacti along the scenic loop trail at the VC. There are so many crested organ pipe and they are spectacular. We found several on our hikes in the park. Enjoy!

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  4. I had no trouble publishing my post this morning from Live Writer. Strange that some people are having issues again.
    How cute that Bella likes to go for rides.

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  5. We loved our time in Organ Pipe National Monument when we were there a couple of years ago. Such neat scenery there and the cacti were amazing there. I think we did the same hike as you did actually we did several different ones while we were there.

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  6. Looks like you had a wonderful time exploring the park, such amazing scenery.

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  7. I was laughing as I read your designation for the trail. I hear ya. Must be youngsters making those designations.

    Loved seeing the organ cactus when we were there, and knew to watch for the crested, thanks to a blog post you had written about them.

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  8. The campground at Organ Pipe is the only campground we have been in that the guy on the gate came out with a tape measure to measure our rv. We had the motorhome then and he said we were over 40' and could not camp there. We were 40' on the nose so he let us in...lol

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  9. Huh, deformed cacti. Imagine that!

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  10. We've been to Organ Pipe several times. It is so beautiful. An awesome trip would be planning it when everything is in bloom. I am sure the Border Patrol knew exactly where you were.

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  11. It has been years since we have visited Organ Pipe. Thanks for that trip down memory lane...beautiful photos.

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