February 26, 2014 Organ Pipe National Monument

We hiked Alamo canyon today. Before this was a park there was a ranch up the canyon.

We were into the the Ajo mountains and they are very green and lush. These are two shots of the trail at the beginning.

A giant chain fruit cholla. The ruins of the old ranch house.

The wash past the well and the corral. It was so green with  pools of water and tons of wildflowers. About this point we ran into a woman who used to be a ranger in the park and she told us it was not safe to go any further up the canyon, smugglers from Mexico used the upper canyon. So we turned around.

Rocks and cactus near the mouth of the canyon. We got to the parking lot and there were two ranger vehicles  that had been there when we headed up and a newly arrived paddy wagon with two rangers in bullet proof vests, with guns, handcuffs and radios. John talked to them and they told him that two rangers had captured 7 smugglers in the canyon and they were there to pick them up. They were going to charge them with illegal substances in the park and then turn them over to border patrol. Glad we turned around when we did.

Evening light on the cactus and Ajo Mountains near camp.

Sunset.

Flowers from Alamo canyon.  Red chuparosas are a flower unique to the Sonoran desert-there were giant bushes, scorpion weed and yellow fringe, yellow monkey flowers also on huge bushes, phlox and fleabane.

Pink flowers from a bush, nightshade, a metata where the Indians ground up seeds, seeds on a bush, night shade fruits, penstamen, berries on a bush and a cholla skeleton.