April 2, 2016

Earlier this month I drove out to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which is about 2.5 hours from Phoenix. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is the only place in the U.S. where the organ pipe cactus naturally grows. In 2002 a park ranger was killed by  drug smugglers in the park and it was closed to the public for 11 years. It just reopened in 2014.

To get there you travel through Gila Bend, Ajo and Why. I would suggest getting a bite to eat in Gila Bend, as the towns of Ajo and Why are extremely small and very limited food options. I had to get a gas station sandwich for lunch (yuck!) because I waited until getting to Why before remembering I still needed to eat lunch.

The entrance to the park is not far from Why. There isn’t a turnoff into the park, it is just located along the highway which leads to a border crossing into Mexico.

I brought Coco and Gigi along for the ride too. We stopped at the visitor’s center first, where they pointed me to a short trail near the center that dog’s were allowed on so we went for a walk.

The park is very rustic and the roads are all gravel and dirt. I drove the Ajo Mountain Drive loop, which took a couple of hours.

 

 

I expected to see more organ pipe cacti throughout the area, but there weren’t as many as I expected. Even so, there were some interesting sights along the way.

 

 

 

March 26, 2016

The beginning of this year has been pretty busy, so I haven’t much opportunity to travel yet. But I have made it out of Phoenix to some cool places right here in AZ. In March I visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, which is near Superior, AZ. March is a great time to visit because its not too hot yet and the plants are in bloom.

Another great thing about this park is they allow dogs, so Coco and  Gigi were able to go on a little adventure.

The arboretum has a 1.5 mile main loop around and some side trails. There are different nature areas throughout the loop such as a cactus garden, palm and eucalyptus groves, an Australian exhibit, South American exhibit, aloe garden and an herb garden. The variety makes the walk a little more interesting. Coco, Gigi and I had a great time!