Puerto Penasco to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

On Friday, we drove from Puerto Penasco to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Some views along the road...

The road was in pretty good condition.

Obviously the no-passing solid line on your side only applies to *some* people!

 Some signs along the way...

Flash flood area

Welcome to Sonoyta (the border town where we would cross back into the US).

Warning about a "Topes" or speed bump -- it was nice when there was a warning sign... there weren't always any notice at all, and although the speed bump may have been painted yellow at some point in the past, the crew that paints speed bumps seems to be lax on their job...

We had seen signs on our way down that we were in a "Hassle Free Vehicle Zone". I wasn't sure what that implied until looking it up now that we're back in the US -- evidently in the border areas, you can drive a US licensed vehicle without an import permit being required - these are designated as "hassle free zones".

Coming up to the US border - Steve and Nancy are in the motorhome with pickup truck towed behind just ahead of us. No pictures allowed of the border crossing area. We had an uneventful crossing - they just asked if we had anything to declare, we told what things we had purchased and were bringing back, and no one came onto our rig to find out if we had any other items that we had not declared. We did not mention things that we had previously acquired in the US and were bringing back.

An ocotillo at Organ Pipe - most of them are looking very green and "plump" and some are blooming.

We waited to fill with water and dump when we arrived at Organ Pipe - there was quite a queue as only one of the fresh water spigots was working... Carl is there at the side of Gracie monitoring as the water was filling.

The entry and exit to sites at Organ Pipe are quite tight -- I should have taken pictures of us working our way into the site - the hardest thing to avoid is the sign with the site number on it -- we realize that part of the "charm" of the campground is the abundance of desert plants....

...as one of the campsites next to us has discovered as they have their slide out very very close to a saguaro!

There are very limited generator hours here in the campground at Organ Pipe (8-10am and 4-6pm), so we got the propane stove out to heat up lunch after we arrived.

We drove down into the town of Ajo (about 35 miles away) to get a few groceries, fill up our drinking water containers (we used about 14 gallons in 14 days while in Mexico), and to meet friends Steve and Nancy at the Elks Lodge for supper.

Supper included a broccoli salad, potatoes au gratin, and a delicious pork chop, as well as a dessert, for $10. Yum!

We have 8 nights booked at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We're looking forward to some time to be quiet and enjoy seeing beautiful night skies, hiking, and desert flora (and maybe fauna too).