We headed south on highway 77 (Oracle Road), eventually making our way over to highway 86 west. The highrises of downtown Tucson...
Steve honked the air horn as we passed the BLM where friends Doug and Toni are camping. We met them last summer at Monck Provincial Park and will be connecting with them later in Quartzsite...
We didn't expect to see a field of pumpkins...
Kitt Peak National Observatory on top of the mountain...
Taking a look at Serena (our GPS), you can see just how close the Mexican border is (black line)...
See how narrow and overgrown the highway is. Steve had to go into the oncoming lane many times to avoid scratching the side of our rig.
At Why, Arizona, we took highway 85 south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. How did Why get it's name, you ask? According to Wikipedia, the town derives its name from the fact that the two major highways, State Routes 85 and 86 originally intersected in a Y-intersection.
It's still about 15 miles to the campground from the park entrance...
We arrived at the Visitors Center at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument at around 1:30 and after chatting with the Ranger, we paid for four nights ($12/night, no services) and headed into the campground. We stopped at the sani-dump to take on fresh water and then parked the rig and walked to checkout the sites that were recommended for RVs up to 40 feet.
We decided on site #1. All sites are pull-thrus off one-way roads that are rather narrow. Site #1 was a direct pull-in off the road and looked like it would be fine for getting out as well (if not, we can always back out). The sites are plenty long enough but maneuvering in and out could be a challenge due to the narrow interior roads.
Our site is at the end (meaning no one directly beside our awning side) and has a structure over the picnic table providing shade...there is also a huge Organ Pipe Cactus on the edge of our driveway.
After getting all set up, we relaxed outside...it's so quiet here right now! I bet there are no more than a half dozen RVs in the campground right now. Apparently it gets very busy come January...we picked a good time to come here. There are numerous hiking trails in the area that we are looking forward to exploring.
Wow,, after you guys blew by us in Oregon you have had the afterburner on and covered some miles. We loved our stay in Organ Pipe and hope to return, maybe even this year. Enjoy the stay, there are some nice hikes there and the scenic look across the road is nice.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's lovely here and so quiet! Not a lot of people yet. We took the trail to the Visitors Center this morning and plan on checking out some of the others too. Just wish we had your jeep so that we could take the 21 mile loop drive...sounds great but our truck is just a little too big (and bumpy). Wish we could take our quads on it! :)
DeleteI'm looking forward to investigating that corner of AZ. You've probably already passed it, but in Oracle is the Biosphere. If you haven't been through it, it is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteWe went to the Biosphere last time we stayed at Catalina State Park in February 2012. You are right, it was fascinating!
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