Eastbound and down - Organ Pipe National Monument to Safford, AZ

Organ Pipe National Monument was great, even though I barely explored it. Thanks, Vermont Chris, for the invitation to join you. It was a relaxing time in a beautiful place.

Hanging-fruit ("jumping") cholla. They don't really jump. Really!

Phainopepla. Just like it's spelled.

I spent an afternoon in Ajo - always a pleasure. The plaza alone is worth a couple of hours. More if you're slow or lazy or need to eat.

I stopped for the night at Buckeye Regional Park. It was a Saturday night, and so the park was full. I didn't linger there this morning, but set out for exotic gas station coffee. Because I was parked so far from the bathroom, I used it all night long.

My GPS kept routing me on I-10, so I resisted all day long. It finally sighed and let me take 60 to 70 to Safford, Arizona. Beginning at Gonzales Pass, I was saying things like "Great Googly-moogly!" and "Zounds!" You may say similar things; some favorites are "Good Golly!"or "Wowwie!" or "Gosh!" Feel free to use any of these. I couldn't stop exclaiming long enough to take death-defying photographs, so you may have to Great Google.

Always looking for new ways to thwart toilet paper theft. This seems foolproof.

I knew I was taking a risk, not phoning ahead to Essence of Tranquility, but that's how I fly. I was flying high today, so got my favorite campsite (next to the bathroom, guaranteeing I won't need it all night).

This is not the bathroom - don't even JOKE about it.

When I'm on the road in Spud, I can't stop myself from checking thrift stores. In Ajo, I also shopped at the discount grocer, which means I am now sleeping with six jars of mayonnaise and a 10 X 14 oil painting.

Organ Pipe is a cactus - Organ Pipe National Monument

I'm always equally pleased to arrive in and to leave Tucson. No offense, Tucson, you're just big and loud. Thank you for your Trader Joe's.

I must always stop in Sells. A cookie and a good cup of coffee await me. 

Vermont Chris invited me to camp with her south of Why, AZ, and so I have!

You can see the sites are spacious.

I think we'll both be on our way tomorrow. Chris has a destination in mind; I am not so clear on where I'm going next.

Who? What? When? Where? WHY! - enjoying the good life in Why, AZ.

I really like this place. I liked it the first time I visited, and I keep on liking it. I may just like it some more later.

I'm visiting Sue Soaring Sun right now. Soon she'll take a little vacation in the big city, and I'll stay here and visit Sonja. This park where Sue and Steve sometimes live feels very luxurious to me right now, and I'm soaking up the comfort and ease of it all, at $2.50/night extra-guest fee.

Sue's art makes me really happy. Sometimes the happiness sounds like snorting, like I do when I see this:

"Amour-dillo"

Sue has a cute little Tracker, and she took me out 4-wheelin'! Wheee! She knows how to tear up the roads!

"Oh Pronghorn! Your wool is so soft! Your lambs are so cute! What a good job you're doing at being a sheep!"

You boondockers know the roads around Darby Well. I had always been intimidated by the sign that told me it was Pronghorn Time, and that I wasn't allowed in. Luckily it isn't that time yet, and so in we were.

Look what we found! It's the back door to Organ Pipe National Monument!

A little past the part where the Border Patrol hangs out, the road gets rocky and rough, even for a hardy little 4X4. If you want to see the monument in full, I guess I'll have to suggest you go the regular-people way. We would have turned around right here, but what good's an Interagency Pass if you don't use it?

It's like PBS in here.

Teddy bear cholla flowers

We saw two species of cholla ("CHOY ah").  Neither one really jumps, but they're so friendly you only need to brush past to become emotionally entwined.  Carry a pocket comb or tweezers to remove the cholla segment, and expect it to hurt.  Your mother told you "beauty is pain."

Strawberry Hedgehog

Something else

Agave

"Crested" organ pipe cactus

It's a flower.

This saguaro's Easter bonnet was about 25 feet off the ground.

Saguaro clowning around.

We thought our campsite was spectacular with just ten species of cacti.  Organ Pipe National Monument is shut-my-mouth breathtaking.  

Cactus wren, I think.  Arizona state bird.

Mexico in the distance

The 21-mile Ajo Mountain Loop is a big deal here, and it deserves to be.  You can do this loop very well in the family car although you'll be even happier in something high-clearance.  Some parts of the road are narrow, but it's one-way traffic so you don't have to worry about passing someone.  Annie started counting the times I said STOP! but then quit when she came to the end of numbers.  You'll go through several distinct habitats, and you'll notice the flora changing.  The park provides a self-guided tour through the loop, and also a short guided walking tour near the Visitor's Center.

There are two trail hiking opportunities within the loop;  one looks pretty easy, and the other is more strenuous.  We're thinking we'd like to try the lazypants trail in two days when the temperature goes back to the 70's.  How else are we supposed to see a Gila monster?

"Gila Monsters are one of only two species of venomous lizards found in North America.  You can find them in the late spring through early autumn at ORPI.  They move really slow, and you have to try pretty hard to get bit.  We don't recommend it.  It hurts, and they don't let go."

The eastern edge of the park is an impressive mountain range.  The other side of that range is Tohono O'odham nation land.

The park fee is $8 for up to seven days in a vehicle.  You can also boondock in the campground for $12/night.  Dump station and drinkable water available there.  Or, boondock for free on stunning BLM land nearby.  This park is where we bought our America the Beautiful annual pass.  

You'll like this place SO MUCH MORE than you like these pictures, and Monument download time is faster.  I promise you'll say "Wow!" at least three times.  That is my "three Wow guarantee."