Ajo Mountain Road

In this Blog I want to try and give you a feel for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. There is a lot of information on the Internet regarding the monument so I will just show you some images taken on the Ajo Mountain Drive which is a 21 mile graded, dirt road to the east of the visitor center. Yes, your car will get dirty from all the dust but it is really worth the excursion and it is a road that can be driven in almost any vehicle less than 25 feet long.

This shows the location of Organ Pipes. It is right along the border with Mexico and you see Border Patrol agents everywhere. There is a large campground at Organ Pipe that has water available but no hook ups. There is a dump station but you are on your own for electricity. It is a large campground but it gets really full in January through March and is first come first serve, no reservations. It is only $8 a night with the old goats federal pass and a nice place to stay.

The clump of cactus on the left is one example of the Organ Pipe Cactus. It was thus named because they thought it resembled the pipes on a big organ in a church. The cactus on the left in the image is a Saguaro cactus very prevalent in the area

You will see a lot of Organ Pipe Cactus as you drive the road and throughout the monument. The cactus is apparently quite common in Mexico but only occurs in a very few locations in the US. This is the northern end of their range.

We are starting to approach the rock mountains. The tour road wanders across the desert and then climbs up into the mountains giving you a variety of views about the desert.

We paused to look back to the west across the desert. A vast open landscape. We are far enough away from any major city that the night skies are very dark and the stars really pop out.

There are over 20 different types of Cholla Cactus. I believe this is a type called Chain-fruit cholla. The Teddy Bear Cholla, a different variety, is also called the Jumping Cholla because it seems to jump out and attach itself to you. All of the Cholla are spiny and very sticky. It seems that everything in the Arizona Desert wants to either sting, stick, stab or bite you. Best be careful out here.

This is a fascinating rock formation we saw as we drove up into the mountains. If you look close you will see another small arch just above the larger opening. Wonderful formation.

This Saguaro has wild arms. The Saguaro is composed mainly of water and when exposed to severe frost or extended periods of freezing temperatures, the Saguaro’s soft tissues turns to mush and can even liquefy. The damaged tissue rots which then can weaken surrounding tissues, causing stems to shrivel or become wavy and arms to droop toward the ground.

This is a Cactus Wren, a very common bird in the Arizona Desert. Certainly looks different than the House Wren or the Bewick's Wren. They build their nest in the Cholla Cactus.

There are hiking trails in this area of the Ajo Mountains. You can get a lot of information at the visitor center that shows the hiking trails and provides a description of each trail.

We are looking south into Mexico. The border is only about 8 miles from where we are. If you take the highway past the visitor center it will take you down to a place called Rocky Point or Puerto Penasco. It is on the Gulf of California and they have wonderful shrimp and seafood there. We had made that trip once a lot of years ago.

Here is a more "Normal" looking Saguaro though you can see them in a wide variety of mutations. Saguaro cacti are very important to the Sonoran ecosystem, as a large number of animals use the cacti as a host plant. After a Gila Woodpecker pecks through the saguaro’s skin, other birds tend to move in to the exposed area, making Saguaro cacti prime real estate in the desert.

This image shows a mix of Cacti spread across the desert. Organ Pipes National Monument is a fascinating environment and the Ajo Mountain Loop Road found there is certainly worth your time should you venture into this part of Arizona.