This park is at the border with Mexico, 3 hours away from Tucson or Phoenix. The drive is boring. The road is completely
flat, and straight for miles and miles before a gentle curve, and then straight again for miles and miles. All around is the dry desert with
saguaros, some other small cacti and not much else. In the distance, a mountain is always there to break the monotony of the landscape.
The park is home of the Organ Pipe cactus, another different species not present elsewhere. The surroundings of the visitor
center are flat and uninteresting. Oddly enough, the cacti were not blooming at all.
The park is not worth the visit until you drive the 21 miles gravel road on the east side, the one way Ajo Mountain Drive.
The road takes you in the Diablo Mountains and to the feet of Mount Ajo, where the landscape is more interesting with more cacti, and colorful
rocks. The highlight of the loop is Arch Canyon, with a natural arch visible from the road, high on the mountain side.
I walked once on the shoulders of the road to take some pictures from close, and regretted it. I came back in the car
with lots of cactus thorns stuck in my legs, coming from I don’t know where.
There is only one road to get there from Tucson, and one road to go to Phoenix. The border patrol agents are setting check
points along that road. If you are an American citizen, you are fine. If you are not, you should better have your passport, green card or visa
papers with you otherwise you are in trouble…
All in one, the area around Tucson is more interesting than Organ Pipe. There are no services around, the drive is long
and boring, the cactus not very different from around Tucson and the park is too close from the Mexican border.
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