The Sonoran Desert

Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

This is the third post regarding our camper van trip to Texas, Arizona, and Utah in March and April of this year.  This post concerns our time in the Sonoran Desert region of southern Arizona.

After our time in Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas, we drove 500 miles  west to Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, Arizona, spending time along the way in Fort Davis National Historic Site in Texas and the wonderful Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona. This part of Arizona, along with the tip of California and down into Baja and Sonora Mexico, comprises the Sonoran Desert. I have been carefully reading all trailhead and overlook informational signs, along with all National Park brochures, and I can report that: 

There are four major deserts in North America: the Mojave Desert of California, where the Joshua trees are; the Great Basin Desert which is most of Nevada; the Sonoran Desert, of current concern; and the Chihuahuan Desert,  by far the largest, occupying southern New Mexico, west Texas and north central Mexico.

The Sonoran Desert gets the most rain of the four and has the greatest variety of  plants, the most recognizable of which is the giant saguaro cactus. I, along with all other Americans of my age, have grown up with images of saguaro; how could you have Saturday morning cartons without the Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales? Can you imagine a western show or a Frito-Lay commercial without a saguaro? While saguaros are widespread in popular culture they are quite limited in geographic distribution. They occur naturally only in the Sonoran Desert, and only in regions with a narrow balance of temperature and rainfall. It was a great treat to see them and hike amongst them; they are fascinating and magnificent.

Laura in the eastern unit of Saguaro National Park, just outside Tucson.
Saguaro grow slowly, just a few inches in their first ten years. They require the shade and protection of “nurse trees” for many years.
Saguaro develop arms after perhaps 100 years of age. They usually live about 175 years and can get up to fifty feet tall.
This is an unusually convoluted saguaro.
This is a young saguaro that has outgrown its nurse tree.
In addition to the saguaro, there are 27 other species of cacti in Saguaro National Park. These are chain fruit cholla.
These are teddy bear cholla.
This is a fishhook barrel cactus.
This is Pima Canyon, in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness north of Tucson. It is unusually green after a wet spring.
Saguaro against the Santa Catalina Mountains, in Pima Canyon.
Petroglyphs in Saguaro National Park.
Saguaro in late evening sun, Saguaro National Park.
If this looks like the Old West, it should! This is the main street of Old Tucson, a movie studio complex outside of Tucson. Since its founding in 1939, over a hundred movies have been filmed here, mostly westerns. The “Little House on the Prairie” TV series was also produced here.
Our tour guide also works as a bit part player and has been shot by a few famous actors.
Here is an old western courtroom, with improved lighting and ventilation.
The city of Tucson itself has a nicely renovated Old Town historic district.
Old Town Tucson.

After five days in the Tucson area, we traveled 150 miles west to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The Monument is in an isolated area of southwestern Arizona and shares about 30 miles of its southern border with Mexico.  It is a beautiful place with dramatic mountains and large expanses of pristine desert. It is the only place in the United States where two interesting cacti occur naturally, the organ pipe cactus and the senita cactus. Both of these are widespread in parts of Mexico; Organ Pipe National Monument is the northernmost extent of their range.

The organ pipe cacti are the bunched, multi-stemmed cacti.
Organ pipe cactus get really big, up to 20 feet tall. They may live 150 years.
Organ pipe cactus
These two saguaro are surrounded by organ pipe cacti. Is the saguaro on the right surrendering?
Laura hiking along a wash in Organ Pipe National Monument.
Even in the Monument, the organ pipe cacti are uncommon, occurring in just scattered patches. The saguaro are much more wide-spread. I see just one organ pipe in this picture, on the far left.
This trail is in the Ajo Mountains on the east side of the Monument. This is too high an elevation for the big cacti.

We had never heard of senita cacti when we started our hike on the Senita Basin Trail. However the few fellow hikers we encountered were all gushing with excitement about having seen the rare cacti.  So we joined in the enthusiasm and headed as directed down the wash:

It is hard for us Easterners to believe, but this wash is a natural feature, not a man-made road.
Laura by a senita cactus
The senita cactus is broader and shorter than the organ pipe cactus, and has a more deeply-channeled stem
This is a young senita cactus; a passing cacti enthusiast said it may be 50 years old.

What about the border? As mentioned, Organ Pipe National Monument shares a 30-mile border with Mexico. We did not see anyone who appeared to be a migrant or smuggler, but the Border Patrol is active in the Monument with their white trucks frequently visible on the backroads.  We did see some discarded clothing and blankets along some of the trails.

This is a water station, marked by a blue flag, placed by a desert trail for migrants in need. The National Park Service and the Border Patrol obviously know it is there. They presumably do not want anyone to die of thirst.
This is called a “border beacon.” It is by a trail in a remote part of the desert and has a flashing light on a pole that can be seen for miles. The base has a button that can be pushed to summon help.
The instructions for calling for help are in English, Spanish, and the Native American language of Tohono O’odham. The Tohono O’odham tribe lives adjacent to the Monument; apparently they do not recognize the international border and travel through the desert to visit tribe members in Mexico, sometimes running into difficulty.
Here is the border wall, looking into Mexico.
We turned our bicycles around here.
This is an old adobe house by the border fence.

We found Organ Pipe National Monument lovely, well worth the effort of getting there. Here are some final pictures:

A bird nest in a chain fruit cholla, with a saguaro in the background.
Early morning in the Ajo Mountains
Sunset at Alamo Canyon Campground, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

8 Comments

  2. beautiful– ran a 1/2marathon in the Chiracahau(sic) wilderness 1983… spectacular country!

  3. Craig – you write so incredibly well! Wonderful photos! Tony and I will soon retire and would love to come see you two some time! Say Hi to Laura! 😊👍

  4. Hey Craig!

    You write so well! You should turn these blogs into a book soon! The photos are smazing! 👍

  7. I think the two saguaro cacti in the Organ cacti field, the one on the right is saying…. “Put up your dukes”.

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