A Visit to Organ Pipe National Monument....

( Writing this on January 9 from Ajo, Arizona. )

On Thursday, Jan. 8, it was drizzly all day.  We didn't feel like sitting in the camper so we drove south 35 miles to see Organ Pipe National Monument.   We got lots of information about hiking trails and driving tours in the park boundaries, and checked out the campgrounds for when we come back through this way later in the month.  Even through the drizzle I managed to get a few good pictures.

The sky might be gray but the Saguaro are still impressive.

This trailhead into the canyon is only a 2 mile hike, a must do on a nicer day.

The honeycomb branches are the inside structure of a dying Cholla cactus.

It was too rainy for sunset pictures  on Thursday.
Today, Friday, we woke up to beautiful sunshine.  We didn't do anything special but we still have some interesting pictures to share.

Every morning this sleek fellow, a Phainopepla, sits on the same Ocotillo branch right in front of our camper door.

We know it's a fellow because the bird book says the females are gray.

And I finally got a picture of a Prairie Falcon right behind our camper. We see these a lot on the top of telephone poles while we are driving. We have a hummingbird also, but no picture of that yet.

On a run into town to the IGA for some produce, I couldn't help taking this with my iPhone. The whole store is this neat. Every can, every cereal box, lined up perfectly.

We also stopped at the Ajo Visitors Center, a refurbished train stop.

And went inside the library, just because it's there!

The cactus reflected in the Aliner window...

...and the view looking out of that window.

The eastern sky is starting to get that southwestern pink/blue as we finish cooking dinner. It seems to me our friend the one-eyed Saguaro is getting closer to our camp!

Watch your back, David !!!

The sunset tonight didn't last long, but the cloud was unusual.

Fury says "hi" to all the hooligans!