We drove into Organ Pipes Cactus National Monument in the morning. The saguaro cacti were everywhere and the organ pipe cacti were plentiful. The saguaro cactuses (apparently according to my dictionary you can use either cacti or cactuses as plural for cactus) are the quintessential cactus, shown in every cartoon, and sketch you’ve ever seen of the desert. The organ pipe cactuses are the ones in a big cluster. Once I figure out how to put captions on the photos I will label them.
Apparently this is the only park in the United States that has organ pipe cacti, partly because is the northern end of their range.
We drove a 51 mile dirt drive loop that took us through many lovely areas of the park, ending along the Mexican border fence.
It was entertaining to find cacti that looked like people.
There were strict instructions not to drive at night and not to pick up any hitch-hikers.
We expected a 10′ high barbed wire prison fence. Instead it was 4′ high fence with picturesque red posts. It looked anything but secure, and beckoned for us to cross it. We shamelessly kept looking hoping to see someone hiding in the bushes make a dash for it.
Ian couldn’t resist, and squeezing under the fence, he pranced around on the Mexican side. We half expected border patrol to come out sirens blazing, but nothing happened, thankfully.
The sunset alpenglow was beautiful above the desert!
We spent the night at the Twin Peaks Campground, near the visitor’s center. Ian and Cy took cold showers in the solar heated bathrooms. Jason and I opted to have another glass of wine and shower another day.
Way to go “Outlaw” Ian, I would have gone under the fence too!