Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (#33 on my "100 Things to See in Arizona" list) is situated right on the border with Mexico in the west-central part of the state and has seen its share of violence in recent months. Parts of the park have been closed to visitors due to fighting among the drug cartels inside the park. Park rangers now wear flak vests and travel in pairs outside the Visitor Center.
Ten years ago, Park Ranger Kris Eggle was shot and killed in the line of duty while pursuing members of a Mexican drug cartel hit squad who fled across the border into the park after committing a string of murders in Mexico. There is a memorial in his honor at the Visitor Center, which, incidentally, is named after him.
Kris Eggle
August 15, 1973 - August 9, 2002
Sixty-nine percent of the most remote regions of the park were closed to tourists after his death in 2002 as park rangers were forced to be de facto border patrol agents. A stronger border patrol presence led to portions of the closed part of the park reopening in 2009 for tours guarded by heavily armed park rangers. Then, in March of this year, more sections were reopened and the guarded tours discontinued as safety conditions improved and many more Border Patrol agents were added.
We went through this formal Border Patrol Checkpoint just outside the park. There are several similar checkpoints between the park and Tucson as well as a bevy of Border Patrol agents patrolling in vehicles. We appreciate their efforts to keep us safe.
We arrived on a beautiful late spring day ready to see some organ pipe cactus. The extreme southern part of Arizona is the very northern part of their natural habitat. I have seen them in botanical gardens or in people's yards where they can be watered during extreme heat or protected from frost but was looking forward to seeing these unique plants in nature.
It was about 17 miles from the park entrance to the Visitor Center... and we only saw a handful of rather smallish organ pipe cacti. This was NOT a good sign! We did, however, see more ocotillo than we've ever seen in one place and thought perhaps it should have been called "Ocotillo National Monument!"
My first question at the Visitor Center was "What is the difference between a National Park and a National Monument?" The answer: a National Park requires a congressional designation while a National Monument requires only a presidential designation. In other words, either 435 people have to decide... or one. Both are maintained by the national parks service. After watching a short video about organ pipe cactus, we were on our way to explore the two hour loop road (rather than the 4 hour one!) on the east side of the park.
Both loop roads are graded dirt roads so the going is slow! We drove about four miles (25 minutes!) before we finally saw an organ pipe cactus. This was definitely NOT a good sign! As we were discussing just turning around and leaving, we saw another... and then another.
They really do look like organ pipes reaching upward!
While it looks like several cactus trunks clustered together, organ pipe cactus actually have several narrow (which in cactus measurement means about six inches!) stems that rise vertically from a very short trunk just above the ground. The stems generally grow to heights of about 16 feet but some reach heights of over 25 feet. Unlike saguaro cactus, organ pipe cactus stems rarely branch.
As the dirt road got closer to the mountains (the Ajo Range), the number of organ pipe cactus increased. Although it took about an hour or so of drive time before we began to see many, it was well worth the drive!
Although only about 100 miles (as the crow flies) separates them, the desert landscapes at Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument are very different!
Several times we pulled over as far as we could on the dirt road and got out to explore the area. As far as we could tell, we were the only ones on the loop and it was eerily quiet when we first got out of the car. Then, slowly, the birds would begin to sing.
Who would have thought we would become birders???
We watched a raven glide before perching on a saguaro (right) and a woodpecker (middle) sun himself atop a cactus!
Organ pipe cactus flower from late-April to mid-June. The funnel-shaped, white blossoms open at night and are closed by morning. After they close, they have a purple or pink tint to them. Although they were blooming, we arrived at the park too late in the morning to see the blossoms open.
The spent blossoms add color to the desert landscape as well as a lovely fragrance.
As the single lane dirt road continued around the mountains, more and more organ pipe cactus appeared. The rocky terrain was not what you normally expect in the desert!
The saguaros were still blooming- so pretty to see their white bouquets on top!
We rounded a turn and stopped to watch some birds. As we were scanning the mountainside and sky, we did a double-take when we saw a DOUBLE arch!! I think we would have missed it had we not stopped!
The big arch is 36 feet high, 90 feet wide and more than 720 feet long. Impressive, huh?
Weather is the culprit that formed these arches. The heat of the day and cold at night make the rock expand and contract causing tiny cracks to form. Water seeps in the cracks, then evaporates leaving salt crystals that grow and chip off pieces of rock piece by piece forming the arch.
As the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky, long shadows danced across the desert. Our eyes feasted on the beauty all around us.
The Ajo Mountains turned pink as sunset approached.
We watched another beautiful Arizona sunset- simply lovely!
And then it was dark.
The two-hour loop road took us four hours- but we experienced the park with our eyes and ears and noses. We persevered through the "boring" part where we saw few or no organ pipe cactus- and were richly rewarded. It was a great day!!
Thumb Up or Down: UP!!!!
Miles Round Trip: see next post
Miles To Date: see next post
Percent of List Completed: 57%
Date of This Trip: May 25-27, 2012
Kristin - Great writing. I really enjoy your posts. We went to Saguaro National Park when we lived there, but never made it to the Organ Pipe National Monument. Looks beautiful.
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