Large -- Medium Our first day in the park was rainy. Really rainy. We paused during a momentary lull in the downpour to climb a small hill adjacent to the road. | |
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Large -- Medium Look how ridiculously green everything is -- its like one of Terra's pictures of Ireland or something. We've had crazy amounts of rain this winter due to an El Nino event. | |
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Large -- Medium Not many of my wildflower closeups came out very well. | |
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Large -- Medium This is the hill we climbed. Its covered in Organ Pipe and other cacti. | |
Large -- Medium Here's a monster one with wildflowers at bottom. | |
Large -- Medium This one looks like its supposed to be art. Menacing clouds, Ocotillo thorns, but red buds at the end. | |
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Large -- Medium Gwen in front of a truly large Organ Pipe. | |
Large -- Medium A view of the plain leading up to the Ajo mountains to our east. | |
Large -- Medium The green, cactus-covered plain. | |
Large -- Medium Mountain to the north. | |
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Large -- Medium View of the Canyon Diablo wash along the Ajo mountain road (visible in background). | |
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Large -- Medium Arch along the Ajo mountain road. | |
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Large -- Medium A bunny we encountered along the Puerto Blanco road (the part that was open). | |
Large -- Medium We stayed over night at the Gringo Pass motel in Lukeville about 100 m from Mexico. This is the sign coming into the monument from the south, as if from the Mexican town of Sonoyta. Just 60 miles further south from here is Puerto Penasco, a tourist town on the beach of the Gulf of California. | |
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Large -- Medium A feature of all the rain we had endured the previous day -- flowing water! In the Sonoran Desert! Flabbergasting! | |
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Large -- Medium Small field of wildflowers along the Alamo Canyon trail. |
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Large -- Medium One of the ranchers that was grandfathered into being able to keep ranching after the monument was formed in 1937 continued to do so until he died in 1976. This is what's left of the house. | |
Large -- Medium Its in great shape -- until we realized that there was an entire other room made of adobe that collapsed into a pile of mud. | |
Large -- Medium Along the flowing arroyo just below the house. | |
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Large -- Medium Gwen in front of a remarkably Organ Pipe-covered hillside. |
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Large -- Medium This is us in the cattle pen, abandoned c1976. | |
Large -- Medium The well pump at the cattle pen. | |
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Large -- Medium View from the ridge that we climbed overlooking the cattle pen. | |
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Large -- Medium On the way back, the water tank, built 1950 Jan 30. | |
Large -- Medium Me (Jason) at the cattle loading ramp. | |
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Large -- Medium A cool spire that Gwen found. | |
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Large -- Medium On the way home, Kitt Peak National Observatory peeking above the mountain. |