March 3, 2010 – Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

This morning we left Gila Bend and headed to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Notice the desert greenery:

 

And then we started to see more saguaros:

And more:

And coming over this hill – the WOW factor takes over.  It was incredible scenery as we headed into the National Monument.

Some of the shapes and the way the arms went reaching out was amazing – it could actually be the stuff that nightmares are made of - “The Attack of the Giant Saguaros” LOL!!:

We are at the Twin Peaks Campground in the Park – very nice – here is our site:

After we set up, we made our way to the visitor center.  Now I am sure I have said it before but I just love our National Parks – and this visitor center and slideshow did not disappoint.

We got information on the trails, the ranger programs and signed up for a van tour of the Ajo Mountain area on Friday (free – :-)).  We also took the Visitor Center Nature Trail:

This is the Organ Pipe Cactus. Although this cactus is common in Mexico, it is rarely found in the US.  And this area of the Sonoran Desert contains most of those in the US.

A chainfruit cholla in front of the saguaro:

Another view of the cholla.  When the sun hits them, they look like they are glowing.

And the wildflowers and cacti are starting to bloom:

 

And another view from our campsite:

The amphitheater is very near us and we attended a great program on predators and prey of the Monument – great program (Did I say I love the National Parks?)

Tomorrow we will be doing more exploring so stay tuned.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  80 miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: I-8; SR-85