From Tucson I have the intention to head toward Alpine, CA to rendezvous with my fellow tribe-mates Debbie and Kim, when I get word from Contessa that they will be crossing the border on their way back from Mazatlan, headed home to Canada in a few days. After a few frenetic email exchanges, we finally figure out that a long talked about meet-up in the desert might just be doable, if I can hold up near Ajo, AZ for a little while. It will mean missing a couple of days in Alpine, but it’s a small price to pay for the rare chance to see the 5Cs.
Way too early for these blooms!
I found another one of the cute little Pincushion cacti in bloom, this one a little taller.
As Jodee pointed out on the last post, these are also called “Fishhook Cactus.”
Ajo is considerably further southwest from where I am currently staying in Gilbert Ray SP, where the midday desert temperatures are mounting. I scour the weather forecast for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a part of the National Park Service that has intrigued me while reading recent posts from fellow bloggers.
Organ pipes don’t bloom until June or July, but this one got a head start. See bud on top pipe.
Rare Senita Cactus, or “Old Bearded Man” cactus.
Although the temperatures are similar for the area, the difference is I will have no hook-ups inside the park to save me from the midday drain of the unseasonable heat wave. There will be nowhere to escape that point in the afternoon when the temperatures crest, when time seems to grind to a halt while all my bodily functions shut down to await the tipping point when the sun shifts overhead toward the horizon, bringing relief of cool desert night air. But I am in luck, the forecast calls for a return to the low to mid 80’s.
They remind me of two headless horsemen.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The 516 square mile park was established to protect the Organ Pipe cactus, prolific in Mexico, but rare in the US. The cactus is frost-intolerant, and does not exist in the USA beyond the northern border of this national monument, which shares its 31 mile border to the south with Mexico.
My first introduction to the organ pipe cactus is right in my campsite.
The scenery warrants margarita-sipping at sunset.
The park’s Twin Peaks campground offers 174 RV sites, and even a non-generator zone. The sites are really well maintained and landscaped, as well as being staggered for as much privacy as one could expect from a campground. The sites even have a small concrete patio, which beckons my new zero-gravity chair. Given the recent heat wave, the campground is only about 20% of capacity, so my site feels peaceful, calm, and quiet.
Full Moon over Organ Pipe
Geocaching for Cristates
The park has a new program called the “Not-So-Junior Ranger Program,” offering “Desert exploration for all ages.” The exceptionally helpful volunteer at the Visitor Center tells me about this program, after I have asked him a couple of questions about the organ pipes. He explains that it was designed as further education about the park for the “young at heart,” because the Junior Ranger program has been so popular with us seniors. 😉 He hands me one of the 16 page booklets after I have asked him about one of the stops along the self guided tour of the Ajo Mountain Road.
Twenty-one mile scenic Ajo Mountain Road
The park offers 18-stop interpretive booklet to accompany the 21 mile, graveled, pot-holed, kidney-busting scenic drive, Ajo Mountain Road. As I am leafing through the guide in the Visitor Center, I come across Stop Nbr 9, a crested organ pipe. “A typical organ pipe cactus has growth cells on the tips of its arms. These cells grow in a circle to form our beloved columnar cactus. A crest can occur when growth cells form a straight line instead of a circle.” This is unexplained in the scientific community, with theories related to genetics, frost, or imbalance in the growth hormone, but no one knows for certain.
Estimated by the NPS to be the largest organ pipe in the park. Estimated by me to be the most beautiful!
There is no one around for miles to help give perspective as to how huge this “giant squid” of a cactus is, so I try to compare to my foot…
One of the cristates, or “crests” inside.
I am fascinated by these mutations, as many of them look like Mother Nature took a little acid trip as she was putting the finishing touches on the saguaros. But I have never seen a “crest” on an organ pipe cactus before, so I ask the volunteer if it is difficult to locate. He responds, “If you like that, wait until you see this!” and opens up a full centerfold of challenges to locate the anomalies in cacti along the Ajo Mountain Road, along with mile markers and GPS coordinates. Geocaching is not something I have found the least bit compelling in the past, but suddenly I am like a kid on a treasure hunt! I find all but one of the crested beauties in the Not-so-Junior Ranger booklet.
Centerfold of cristates
They really do look like works of art…
This one has three formed crests and two more in the making.
After having completed my first exercise in the Not-So-Junior Ranger program, I begin to leaf through the booklet looking at some of the other challenges, and in no time, I have completed 70% of the book. My curiosity is peaked to complete the remaining 30%, so back to the Visitor Center I go for the remaining answers. This is such a fun way to learn about this beautiful park, I took the pledge!
“As a Desert Ranger, I will help to preserve and protect Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument by sharing my knowledge of the park with others, demonstrating appropriate behavior to Junior Rangers and other people of all ages, and supporting conservation of the park’s natural and cultural resources.”
Of course I LOVE the idea of a Not so Junior Ranger program and wish more parks would step up with this idea. Although doing the regular Junior Ranger program I always learn a lot, plus love to collect the badges. Those crested pipe cactus are so amazing and what a score to be challenged to find so many of them. Sure glad those temps are coming down a bit for you that far south. Had to laugh at your margarita sipping photo when seeing your wonderfully tanned legs and white feet. A sure sign of a dedicated hiker.
Gaelyn, this was my first (Junior, or not so junior) program, but it will not be my last. I was impressed by how much I learned, which contributed to a much greater appreciation and love of the park.
Love the Cacti Anomalies !!!
Thanks, Pen Pal, and thanks again for the alert of the missing comments, and WordPress upgrade testing!
Ah, there it is. No comment area on the last post. Embarrassingly I admit to having been in Organ Pipe only once, and then only for a quick overnight. Your gorgeous pictures prompt a return visit.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Thanks for trying again, Judie. I did an upgrade, and it didn’t exactly go as planned. 😮
Nice Sock Lines! 😉
Thanks, Hans….I am not sure, but they could be dirt lines. 😉
Congratulations on becoming a Ranger! What a cool way to explore the park and see some of the unique features. We did not get to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument but will definitely have to next time we are in the area!
Are half the rv and vehicles hoods still leftvopen each night as a preventative to pack rats molestation? According to the Host the critters want to be in a totally dark environment when they start gnawing… the open hood lets in the moon and star light to discourage ’em. They got in our Navion back in Jan. and tore up the insulative padding on the hood underside – we learned later that our site was also home to an active pack rat nest.
We’ve since purchased a few solar lights at the $ store and now place them under the engine each night…party on!!
Yes, John, most of the vehicles left their hoods open overnight. I asked about this, and was told it was due to the packrat. Some even left lights under the hood. I didn’t have a DC light to use, but I just hoped the full moon would suffice! Fortunately, I did not have any problems…
Jim and Barb — I will definitely be back to this park as well. It offered a lot of scenic beauty with very few people…
Cool! Looks like a fun way to explore the park…perhaps we’ll make it there some day…but not this late in the year! It sure would be nice to check crested oragan pipe cactus off my list! 🙂
Well, Lisa, you know I am always running behind on the blog, hard as I try to catch up. I left there the first week of April. It was not too hot for me, but it probably would be for you two polar bears…
So very cool. (Although I have to say, as a backpack-carrying junior ranger, you’ve never demonstrated what I would consider appropriate behavior around me).
Kim — I interpreted the pledge to mean only within Park territory. It does not apply to seedy casinos, dark beer-soaked bars, and outrageously noisy burger joints. 😉
Ah Ajo. I dropped a shipmate off at his home in Ajo when we separated from the USN in 1968 and it was on the way to my home in the north east. At least that is what he told me, I now know that Ajo is on the way to nowhere. We are going to spend a few days there in late May when we visit the area and I shall travel all of the roads you pictured in this article. Looking forward to following your tracks. I loved the flowers and cacti.
Allen — I sure hope you and Deede don’t roast there in May! Wish you could have come down when it was a bit cooler, when the desert was in bloom. But maybe if Deede feels an improvement, you will come back for the blooms…
We absolutely loved Organ Pipe NM when we were there in late February. Gorgeous hiking and scenery. Sadly, we left our “Not-So-Junior-Ranger” booklet behind when we did the loop driving tour and missed all of those cool crested cacti. Thanks for showing them to us! We teach Junior Ranger programs on Lopez Island in the summer and have been thinking of adding a Not-So-Junior component — we’ve gotten as far as offering “Coffee With The Birds” for adults and it’s a big hit.
We, also, had both booklets with the charts to find all the crested cacti we could on the drive. I just loved all the crested organ pipe arms!! We even found a few on one of our hikes. That campground is gorgeous. Now if they only had power:) Your site was beautiful with that huge organ pipe right there. Glad you made it down there:)
I was so intrigued by this post Suzanne. We haven’t been to Organ Pipe for many a year and I’m certain we would look at it with a more critical eye should we return. Those crested cacti are beautiful. I have never had any interest in geocaching but give me that Ranger booklet and I would be determined to find every last one. You snatched a great spot!
Hi Suzanne, had I known about this blog I would have been following your travel adventures. Your writing is so interesting and as my traveling days are over with the exception of market trips to Dallas and Las Vegas, I can experience all these things through you. Keep burning down the highway, it is admirable for you to be living your dream. You are braver than I to travel alone! By the way in one of your pictures, I saw you in the same headphones that I own, I have 78 hours of flying time in a Cessna 172, do you fly?
Hi, Teresa — Thanks for the nice comment, and for following along! I was indeed “living the dream” as I have never been the type who can stay put in one place for long, so the nomadic lifestyle has certainly brought me lots of joy. No, I don’t fly, but wish I could. I don’t think my eyesight is good enough. Those headphones were in a float plane trip over the Misty Fjords near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was in a Cessna, but I was just a tourist. 😉