A February Tuesday in Arizona filled with exceptional weather on the horizon had us reaching for our adventure cards to continue exploring our home state. We selected the card labeled “Ajo.” After a quick QR code scan, we decided we’d rather check off the “bonus” section than the hiking challenge. We consulted our map and made plans for an early start Wednesday morning.
The two-hour drive south was filled with blue skies and neverending views of the Sonoran desert and the mountains.
We passed through the towns of Ajo and Why on our way to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The visitor’s center offered cheerful, informative rangers, a map/guide for our drive and remarkably clean restrooms.
The 21-mile loop drive is easy and mostly flat, but only partially paved. It’s well-maintained and certainly safe for all but the lowest clearance vehicles (trailers and RVs over 25-feet long are prohibited). We even saw a few cyclists tackling the challenge.
Along the way, the guide explains all the different cacti in the park including the park’s namesake Organ Pipe and the Saguaro, which only grows in the Sonoran Desert. In places, there were so many of these desert giants we decided the scene could be described as a forest!
The Cacti fill the fields and lean a little toward the road letting you get close enough for amazing pictures.
As the drive dipped and climbed, curved and bent we drove alongside the Ajo Mountains where the Tohono O’odham tribe made their homes and thrived for centuries. One pull off afforded a view of an incredible double natural bridge. Another offered the carcass of a dead Saguaro, its skeleton lying sadly nestled in a pile of rocks.
By mile 15 the scene changed from Saguaro and Organ Pipes to Chollas … both Chain Fruit and “Teddy Bear” types. These are nicknamed “jumping cactus” because their barbs seem to jump onto anyone or anything that gets close enough. While we managed to avoid the pain of picking up a cactus barb, our car wasn’t quite as fortunate. Lucky for us, barbs from the Chain Fruit Cholla aren’t piercing enough to cause any real damage.
Exiting the park after our two-hour off-road excursion, we headed for home. But first, a stop in Why for lunch at ranger-recommended Granny’s Kitchen. We were famished! The hearty Mexican fare was exactly what we needed to cap off this adventure. Sated, we drove north with a short diversion in Ajo to tour the historic town’s square.
On our drive home, we both remarked how much we continued to enjoy Arizona’s wide-open spaces. Off-the-beaten-path adventures like these are all over. You just have to look for them. Take the time to enjoy them while you still can. After all, there’s a whole world out there waiting to be explored.
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