March 11, Moving on to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

*Daylight Savings starts in most places, but NOT in Arizona*

We were on the road by 10:00, with the temperature already a sunny 21C (70F). Gonna be another hot one!
Fuelled up at Gila Bend at a Texaco - $4.299 / gallon for diesel. 1:00, the temperature has risen to 27C (80.6F).

Entered Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (remember the lesson about National Parks & National Monuments?)

National Parks and National Monuments: There is a (slight) Difference...

Craig Stocks, NPS

Entrance to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

National Parks and National Monuments are both administered by the National Park Service, and are identical in their function and purpose. Both are types of federally protected lands, and share the common goal of preserving and protecting significant natural and cultural resources.

The major difference between a national park and a national monument is the manner in which they are created. A national park is established through an Act of Congress, and the land may originate from a variety of sources, including public and private land. A national monument is established by Presidential proclamation, and this land is to be taken only from existing public (federal) ownership.

Franklin D. Roosevelt created Organ Pipe Cactus N.M. on April 13, 1937.
We arrived at the Visitor Centre, watched an orientation slide show and walked an interesting nature trail.

Later, we checked in to the Twin Peaks Campground, which is dry camping - no power, no water, no sewer - for 2 nights. At least we were on a concrete pad, but had the garbage bins in front of our site! The sites were large and well spaced out.

Walked around the park, which was perhaps 1/2 full. This is an Ocotillo plant blooming (at the tips).   For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2-4 cm) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months. It is not a cactus, but the Saguaro behind it is.



The Organ Pipe Cactus, for which the area is named:

This columnar cactus is the second largest in the U.S. (next to the Saguaro) growing as tall as 23 feet. Instead of having a central stem, however, a cluster of 5 to 20 slender branches grow from a point at ground level and curve gracefully upward.

They grow in a small area of the Sonoran Desert only from southwestern Arizona to western Sonora, Mexico, on south-facing, hot, sunny slopes from 1,000 to 3,500 feet.






In the evening, there was a Ranger Program all about Turkey Vultures, which was interesting.

The only downside to this campground is the restrictive hours that a generator can be used : 8am - 10am, and 4pm - 6pm. However, we survived!