Our second full day at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was going to be a bit of a day off. We weren’t driving anywhere, we’d catch up on a few things and then hike from camp for the day. We were around the campground during part of the day and observed that a lot of people in the massive RV’s seem to plan their day around maximizing their generator use during the allowed hours. I’m not sure how they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on those gigantic things and they don’t even come with solar panels to keep them charged. But, we did hear sounds of vacuuming, so maybe their power needs are just too much for a solar panel to keep up with. We headed out on our hike to Victoria Mine.
Note: This story is part of the series South to Spring. Click the link or head to our timeline for the other chapters of the trip.
Flowers were abundant, and we even ran across a Christmas cholla adorned with red fruits.
It seems every trail and road in the monument shares the same warning messages about the proximity to the border, but the only banditos we saw were a couple of stray dogs and saguaros that looked to be putting the sneak on us.
We checked the weather back at Anza Borrego and the wind was still blowing and gusting to 60 miles per hour and was going to continue for one more day. We escaped to Organ Pipe for just the right amount of time. Back at camp the sun was sinking and setting up for yet another epic sunset. We strolled the desert and took in the scenes.
The next day in Organ Pipe would be our last, and we had a full day ahead of us. We packed up camp and headed to the Ajo Mountain loop drive.
We started the day with a hike near Arch Rock.
A car had raced past us on our way to the first trailhead, and the two gentlemen that had gotten off on the hike ahead of us were already headed back down the trail. They gave us a warning that the trail had no view. “Quite disappointing,” one said. I assume they might have meant there was not view of the arch up the trail further, but really, no view?
We continued on, identifying wildflowers and listening to the cactus wrens and LeConte’s thrashers sing us songs.
Once we finished up that hideous trail we headed for the next one, the Bull Pasture trail. I guess back in the day cattle were pastured in the high country near Ajo Peak. Up we went.
All along the way, signs of spring.
With our two hikes finished we drove out the rest of the Ajo Mountain loop and headed north out of the monument. The forecast was looking favorable for us to return to Anza Borrego and pick up where we left off. We still had a lot on our list we wanted to see there. But first we needed a place to stay before the long drive back to California. We’d done some research and found a unique camping opportunity north of the Monument. Scanning through the map at iOverlander the night before we found the Barry Goldwater Military (bombing) Range actually allowed free camping. Now this was interesting. We navigated the steps (see logistics below if you are interested), checked in and received the combination to the locked gate. There was one other camper on the same road system, but it was mainly us and the coyotes for the night. Thanks to the Marines and the Air Force for hosting us for the night!
Arizona saw us off with yet another stunning sunset filled with pinks, reds, oranges and purples. We’d be headed back west to California in the morning, but for tonight we just sat back and watched the stars come out.
Logistics:
If you are interested in camping and recreating on the Barry Goldwater Military Range start here: https://bmgr.recaccess.com/
First each person visiting over the age of 18 needs to create an account, then they need an annual permit. Once you have your annual permit you need to check in to the area you plan to visit for the days you plan to be there. We were able to check in in advance (the night before). Once checked in we received the gate code. We downloaded the pdf maps and loaded them into Avenza so that we were sure we were driving and recreating where we were allowed to do so. Access to the Range is free, you just have to jump through the hoops and stay in the open areas. It appeared that one could explore the area for days with few other people out there.
