We took a relatively short road trip down to Tucson for a few days to
visit friends and then went on over to Why, AZ to spend a couple of nights and
visit Organ Pipe Cactus NM. This park is a showcase for the Sonoran Desert United States although it is common in Mexico . The
monument protects the bulk of the US range. There are two loop drives
in the monument and we drove the 21 mile Ajo Mountain Drive which, even on a
cloudy winter day, was pretty and showcased the desert ecosystem combination of
flat desert and mountains. With the abundance of various cactus and other
plants we were thinking we need to come back when everything is blooming after
a raining season.
There is a 3 hour van tour to visitors (call ahead for
details and reservations) on the same loop road that we drove if you don't want
to drive the dirt road in your own vehicle. We were reserved on this but a government
shutdown hit that morning so everything was closed to the public except this
drive.
