Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Kris Eggle Visitor Center at Organ Pipe Catus Nat. Monument
























The Organ Pipe Nat. Monument is in southern Arizona and is contiguous with the US Mexican border. It showcases the Sonoran Desert and its many plants and animals. It is "green desert" with vast expanses of Mesquite and Palo Verde. 

 

It also contains its name sake, the Organ Pipe cactus, Saguaro cactus and lots of Cholla. The Teddybear cholla made look cuddly from a distance but its definitely not!

 

The area supports abundant wildlife including the endangered Sonora pronghorned antelope (only 100 remain in the US and about 650 in Mexico), gila monster (a 2 foot slow moving lizard which is the only venomous lizard native to the US), the javelina or peccary which is a wild pig and the desert tortoise.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any animals.

 

In the 1930's concerned citizens that wanted to protect the area took actions to persuade President Franklin D. Roosevelt to use his executive powers to create Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. He did so in 1937. The monument preserves one of Earth's major ecosystems. The United Nations, recognizing its significance, designated the monument as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976.

 

After visiting the visitor center we had lunch in a little picnic area across from the parking lot.

 

There are several hiking trails and a 21-mile, mostly unpaved, loop trail within the monument. We decided to take the loop trail and then hike the Arch Canyon Trail. Memory tends to blur things like the pain of childbirth and prior hikes so I was looking forward to the hike. It was a beautiful day and the temperature was very pleasant.

 

 

The mountains and valleys of the area were formed about 25 million years ago when large blocks of the earth's crust were thrust up and over areas sank. 

There are two major types of rock which are visible in the striated rock formations: rhyolite and tuff.

 

The trail, described as "easy-moderate" was more on the moderate side to my way of thinking. Desert plants have to protect themselves from the hungry animals and we had to protect ourselves from the plants! The end of the trail reveled a beautiful view of the rugged mountain and was well worth the effort.

After our hike we headed over to the main campground. The campground is a beautiful facility with concrete pads tucked into the brush, complete with a bbq and picnic table, and several restrooms that were equipped with solar-powered showers (how cool is that!) all for only $8 per night. Cinnamon found the place to his liking.

The next morning we had breakfast utilizing the wonderful little hotplate that our friends had given us while we enjoyed the lovely quiet desert morning. I made a quick walk into the desert to listen to the birds and then we were on our way to Mexico. Hopefully, on our return north we will be able to visit Organ Pipe again and see all the cacti and desert marigold in bloom.