Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument - Adversely Affected By Proximity To U.S./Mexico Border On Sunday morning, my buddy Joel and I trekked over to Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, located approximately 120 miles west of Tucson in south central Arizona. Compared to other national parks and monuments, it is considered quite remote and an undervisited park, but the desert scenery is beautiful, as you'll see. ;)

First, a few basics about the park. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is located in one of the hottest regions of Arizona. (On our day to visit, while much of the Interior West was suffering in below zero and single digit temperatures, it was a sunny 54 degrees.) It is situated above the U.S./Mexico border with the towns of Ajo and Why as the two closest towns to the north. Because the park is located so close to the border, illegal immigration and its related activies affect the park in adverse ways. The top two photos are signs at the visitor center which explain some of the challenges park rangers face, including the tragic death of Kris Eggle. Do take a moment and read that sign! Quite a few trails and roads in the area are either closed or generally discouraged to enjoy because of the risk of encountering potentially desperate illegal immigrants and others related to criminal activity at the border. The Old Sonoyta Highway is a good example of this. Also, note on the map (bottom right) that the Camino de Dos Republicas and much of Puerto Blanco Drive (besides the two miles nearest the visitor center) are closed. We were also discouraged by park rangers from exploring Arch Canyon and the Bull Pasture Loop Trail (both situated on the Ajo Mountain Loop Drive) due to increasing illegal activity. In a previous visit last year, Joel encountered a two small bands of illegal immigrants (with four and five in their parties respectively) along the south end of the Ajo Mountain Loop. According to Joel, they looked shocked and scared to see someone in the remote area. Now having said all that, Joel and I had an amazing time and really enjoyed much of the desert scenery. This is Arizona at it's best! We drove around the Ajo Mountain Loop and here are some of my best photos. :)

	The Organ Pipe Cactus So the organ pipe cactus is the main catch of this national park. Interestingly, the cities of Tucson and Phoenix are not hot enough for organ pipes to grow naturally, but here in far south central Arizona, these desert plants flourish! You can view a large photo gallery of this cactus here: Organ Pipe Cactus Gallery.
	A few more photos of the organ pipe cactus.
	Thankfully, I was with Joel Smith of Tucson, an avid desert enviromentalist who helped explain some interesting facts about this plant from examining this dead and decaying organ pipe. I couldn't possibly restate the points he made! :p)

	The Scenic Ajo Mountain Loop The Ajo Mountain Loop is probably the best place to experience this park. The organ pipe cacti grow like crazy the further east you go! You'll enjoy great views of mountains and saguaros too.
	Like I said, this is Arizona at its best! :)
	Desert cacti.
	I really need to give thanks to Joel Smith. The guy has been such a good friend during my visit to Tucson! Joel graciously drove his vehicle all the way to the park and on top of being quite an advocate of Arizona environmental issues, he is a tried and true Arizona "desert rat." Joel loves it when it's 106 degrees outside in the summer! In the summer, he frequently rolls down the top on his convertible and enjoys the Arizona sun and heat without complaining. Joel, you're alright!
	Look at these big ol' saguaros! Here are five different Arizona saguaros that "made it" in this picture collection. (The two bottom left photos are the same saguaro which approximately twelve arms.) Here are my other national park pages: Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado) Saguaro National Park East (Arizona)
	Here's the view of Arch Canyon.
	Two photos of a really beautiful overlook about halfway into the Ajo Mountain Loop.
	Wowwee! I love this photo.
	A cholla.
	Two more photos of organ pipe cacti.
	There I am petting a "hedgehog cactus" which really scratched up my hand. It is a very spiny cactus with yellow thorns. ;)
	Two more views of the Arizona desert. Here are my Arizona pages: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Saguaro National Park East Photos In & Around Tucson Town of Tombstone, AZ Mid-Life Crisis at Arizona Trucks Stops Sunset at Gates Pass B&B Cactus Farm in Tucson Phoenix, AZ (February 2008) Picacho Peak
	A golden barrel cactus.
	Check out the root system of these large saguaros. Goodness! They look pretty much like trees! :p)
	A shot of Joel snacking at a rest area. During the entire 20-mile loop drive in which we spent at least three hours out there, I think we saw six to eight other visitors.
	While walking in the desert, Joel noticed this area of three "baby cacti" - hedgehog cacti (in two clusters), organ pipe (small and green) and a saguaro (spiny and gray).

Border Patrol And My Experience In Lukeville, Arizona As we were leaving the Ajo Mountain Loop, I snapped the above photo of one of many border patrol trucks we saw. Oh but the fun was just beginning! Joel and I drove the five miles to the border town of Lukeville, Arizona. There is merely a RV park, gas station and general store in Lukeville, besides the large border patrol headquarters. We parked and walked 500 yards to the border to check things out when we witnessed seven or eight patrol officers arrest two Mexican teenagers who apparently illegally entered. With their hands up behind their head, I pulled out my camera to snap a photo, but was shouted down by the officers. I immediately put the camera down and continued to walk to the general store feeling like a stupid tourist that I was. Ahhhhhh ... then just moments later, while in front of the general store (where I snapped the adjacent photo of the Mexican gate), a young Mexican boy (age 9?) called me a gringo as he walked towards the Mexican gate. I was at least happy to have a full border experience! I witnessed two illegals getting arrested from some very intense border patrolmen and was the recipient of racism by a young Mexican. It was awesome! :)

As we were headed out of the park (northbound towards Why, Arizona; yes, "Why" is the name of the town), we reached this checkpoint and border patrol searched the trunk of Joel's mustang before we were allowed to proceed. Transporting illegals across the border is big business in the black market.