Organ Pipe National Monument Jan 27 and Feb 6, 2013

The organ pipe cactus is a rarity in the US. This national monument was created to protect this species of cacti, found only in this part of the country, in the Sonoran Desert. The Organ Pipe National Monument is adjacent to Cabeza Prieta NWR, making it a very convenient place to visit....we went twice during our time at Cabeza. The Organ Pipe NM also hosts 27 other types of cactus, including our good friend, the Saguaro.

In case you couldn't figure it out, they are called organ pipe cactus because they look like the pipes of an organ. There are tons of them here; in all sizes. It was a pretty cool spectacle.

The Saguaro does not grow its first arm until it reaches 70-90 years of age.

We hiked into the Alamo Canyon on one of our visits. It was a beautiful trail that lead to an old ranch...yes, people used to farm and cattle in this area - can't imagine even trying with water being such a commodity.

Here's Oliver coming out of the remains of the old ranch house.

The Saguaro has a shallow root system so that it can suck up as much rain/water as possible. It stores that liquid in its very spongy inner core to survive. The neighboring Tohono O'odham Native American tribe has the rights to harvest the fruit from the saguaro inside of Organ Pipe NM every July. This is part of their culture and was part of the deal made with the tribe when this area became a NM.

We were stunned by the many scenes just like this: a south-facing mountain slop laden with organ pipes. They love the warmth and sunshine and need it to survive as cold temps and frost can kill them. This is why there are so few of them in the US.

There was a little bit of water in the Alamo Canyon, leftover from the rain that occured here the week before. It is always a thrill to see water in the desert and you can see how much greener the vegetation is around the water (at Oliver's feet).

The yellow flowers of the brittlebush were another reminder of the week's rain.

The day we hiked in the Alamo Canyon, we enjoyed a picnic lunch amidst the Saguaro and Organ Pipes.

Oh, we also enjoyed the company of this little guy during our picnic!

The tops of the stems of the Saguaro have these concentrations of thorns that act like a sunscreen to protect the plant from the hot sunshine. Usually the arms of the Saguaro stand upright, directly facing the sun. This plant's drooped arms made this photo possible.