December 2-7, 2031 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

 Mid 80's and sunny. It is so delightful in the shade we have not been motivated to go anywhere. Just hanging out and relaxing.  It is so quiet, dark and beautiful just sitting in the lawn chair and enjoying. 

Sunset last night from our picnic table. A cactus wren hanging around our campsite.

Sunset tonight.  I have finished these 5 baskets since we have been here.

Sunset tonight. 

The bus with Twin Peaks behind us at sunset.  John in a palo verde tree grove reading an interpretive sign on the Desert View Trail. 

View from the Desert View trail of the campground. The arrows point to the bus that is lit up by the sunset. The other structures are bathrooms and sun shelters. The campground is practically empty. View the other direction of the mountains in Mexico. 

John on the trail. Organ Pipe cactus's in front of a view of the mountains in Mexico.

Hedgehog cactus and a cute sign of social distancing activities with desert animals. I love the tarantula lifting weights and the saguaro listening to music. The new crescent moon in the sunset. 

77 today and sunny. The crescent moon, Venus and sunset in the organ pipe cactus in our campsite. John cooking lime garlic shrimp for dinner on the partner stove outside. Yum yum.

I spent the entire afternoon sorting through a bag of glass puddles I made before I left and trying to match up some earrings. It is big task since none of them are the same. I got part of them glued. 75, partly cloudy and light winds. We hiked 3 miles round trip to the visitors center this afternoon. A sign across the street from the visitors center that say first amendment designated free speech area. It is designated area for people to protest about the wall just south of here on the border. Inside the visitors center is this cute social distancing sign. It says 6 feet is the length of 5 gila monsters. 

In the top of the photo is a cactus wren, below is a cactus wren nest in a cholla cactus. Any predator would have to get in through the cholla, which has detachable joints with fish hook spines. If you touch it, it sticks to you and it really hurts. When you try to remove it, it sticks to your hand. It is comical in a 3 stooges way trying to get if off. I carry a comb in pack for that very purpose. The nest itself has thorny branches on the outside. The waxing crescent moon  in sunset caught on an arm of a saguaro. The faint star to the right is Saturn. 

John on the ground capturing the moon in an organ pipe cactus.