Postcard from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

This special and unusual national monument is located about halfway between Yuma and Tucson, but unlike Tucson, Organ Pipe is right on the Mexican border. It is quite large, consisting of some 330,000 acres. But more than that, it is the quintessential Sonoran Desert. When you stand on one of its many hills and survey its landscape, all you see is green desert, filled with 23 different kinds of cactus and many other desert plants, not to mention a whole host of desert animals.

The park is named after a very rare species of cactus, called, of course the Organ Pipe. Photo #1 shows a good sized example of an Organ Pipe. This is one of the very few places in the U.S. where it grows, in fact almost all of the Organ Pipes in the U.S. are located within the park boundaries (It can also be found in Mexico).

The Organ Pipe cactus is found all over the park, especially on the south side of the park’s many hills. It needs abundant heat and light and is very susceptible to frost. It blooms once a year, for one night, anytime from May through June. Cross pollination is accomplished by bats, which, of course, only fly at night.

The other primary cactus here is the Saguaro, the tall one that can be seen in photos. They are all over the Southwest, especially here in Tucson. There is one growing just a few feet from my home here. But there are many others, to be sure, all visually different.

The park has a wonderful campground that is part and parcel of the desert environ. After picking my spot, I walk around and had the distinct impression that the campground had been professionally landscaped to show off all the different types of flora that can be found here. It was so beautifully laid out and easy to walk around in.

After some later explorations of the park, I found out that there was no need to landscape…this is the way this desert is laid out by nature. It looks the same everywhere you look.

The campground is located 5 miles from the border and is elevated so you can see thousands of acres of Sonoran desert as well as Mexico. This is the perfect time of year to visit there as summer temperatures, as you might guess, go well above 100 and drop down between 75-80 at night.

Photo #2 shows the south side of one hill where the Organ Pipes thrive. Picture #3 show an Organ Pipe and a Saguaro at sunset. Oh, and did I mention that the sunsets are incredible here?