Day 18 Gila Bend AZ to Organ Pipe and Saguaro to Sunsites AZ

June 29, 2024   Mileage   Start:  27808  End:  28153  Total:  Day/Trip  345/5442

It's Cactus Day! Besides being in the desert, again, we visited Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park before stopping for the day. While both contained saguaro, cholla, barrel, and prickly pear cactus, the only organ pipes were in...Organ Pipe. Saguaro also had several varieties of cholla. There were rock formations, but the highlight of these 2 parks were the cacti. First picture is the namesake of the first park - the organ pipe cactus. There are a couple of smaller ones around it, and a few saguaros in the background.



One of the 2 new varieties of cholla cactus here. Many signs warning people to stay clear of them and carry tweezers to remove the spines. We just kept our distance, thank you very much.


Next shot is a double arch from Organ Pipe, look closely at the top to see the second arch "piggybacked" on the first.


A view with saguaros on the right, organ pipes on the left, and 2 kinds of chollas in the middle.


A barrel cactus...and a prickly pear to the right and behind to the left; a cholla behind right; and a saguaro backing it all up. 


A couple of shots of impressive saguaros. They were every size and shape imaginable, arms of various lengths, pointing in various directions. Many were blooming, with bright red flowers at the ends of the arms; there were also a few white ones.




And finally, a nice picture of Rita sitting in front of gneiss (pronounced nice), a banded metamorphic rock. And she's still smiling at me!



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