It’s not the place you travel that makes it worthwhile, it’s the people you meet along the way.
Anonymous
well, we decided to forfeit our 3 days at Chiricahua because of the cold and snow and off we headed further west to find warmth.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was our new destination.
The park campground was immersed in the unique rugged wonder of the Sonoran Desert. We decided to do the South Puerto Blanco Road. It was only a 7-mile drive; however, the road was so rough and Winnie is not a four-wheel drive, it took us over 2 hours to drive it. All along this drive there were many signs about illegal immigration and smuggling and to avoid contact if encountered. Oh yes to call 911 if you needed help.
When we got to the trail head, we were the only people here and we were very uncomfortable about leaving Winnie unattended. Not to mention that we did not have any cell service! So, we had lunch, took a few pictures and turned around.
One thing we did get to see was the Wall. This structure is 30 feet high made of metal and seemed to go on forever. I had always heard of it but didn’t realize they actually built it. This must have been an enormous project, the manpower and the resources required; not to mention the destruction of the local environment. We were so close we could have touched it. However, out of fear of setting off some alarm we decided to only take a picture from the camper. (Us daredevils you know 😊)
We did manage to do a couple of trails closer to the campground. The Desert View had beautiful views and impressive stands of the organ pipe cactus. The other was into the old Victoria Mine; where the old mineshaft and ruins of the mine store still remained. It was at Organ Pipe that we met a lovely couple from California; Kristie & Sara. They gave us a lot of travel tips and encouraged us to head to California… Stay tuned…