Yesterday started out with rain and wind. But my photographer friend Dave Forester from Wenatchee and I checked out the forecast and saw it may clear up about 3:00 PM with 50% clouds in the sky. So we took a chance and headed southwest to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Now if you don’t remember my past blogs about Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, let me refresh your memory. This National Monument lies right on the Mexican Border and is home to a very special large species of cactus known as Organ Pipe cactus. When you look at these photos, you can easily pick out which of the cactus bear that name. About 98% of all Organ Pipe cactus in the U.S. are located inside the park boundaries.
It is a 2 1/2 hour journey at best, but we ran into some heavy rains along the way, so it took a bit longer. Eventually made it to the Visitor Center and asked if they knew where there might be a concentration of wildflowers and Organ Pipe cactus. She showed us a point on an unpaved 21 mile loop road called the Ajo Road. As the start of the road was just right across the highway from the Visitor Center, we headed out.
After bouncing and jiggling our way across the desert, we found the exact spot the ranger pointed out…a hillside cover with Mexican Poppies and Lupine, and of course, featuring the Organ Pipe cactus and some Saguaro cactus as well. Sadly, the sun was still behind the clouds. But by 4:30, it broke free and it played peek-a-boo with us for the next 2 hours. We did a lot of standing around waiting for the next ray of sunshine to snap our shutters, but it was worth it.
Here are just two samples of the photos I took yesterday. More will eventually follow. In the second photo, the mountains you see way off in the distance are in Mexico.
It was a good day on the side of that mountain, and I am glad we went, even though we had another long journey to get back home to Tucson. The wildflower season is only still beginning here in the Sonoran Desert, but it is spectacular.
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