Organ Pipe to Tucson, Jan 30, 2016

January 30,  Saturday

By 8:00 the hum of generators abounded  in the campground - making that morning coffee?  48 degrees.

We set off for North Puerto Blanco Drive this morning, a nice graded gravel road.  Expected to find a trail to a tinaja (depression in rock that holds water), but didn't see it.  We did see quite a few birds and tried some photos.

 We could only go 5 miles to a picnic area, as the road then became 4-wheel drive only. Had some cereal and bananas before heading back.

Next, we drove north toward the exit to the park, but first stopped at Alamo Canyon Trail.  It is by a primitive campsite, rather remote from most of the park activity.  This emergency button with a flashing light high up on a pole was 2/3 of the way down another gravel road to the trail. Note it is in English, Spanish and Indian - Tohono O'odham.

 This was a pretty easy, level 2 mile hike to an old abandoned ranch which was home to Bill & Birdy Miller who filed a mine claim and ran a few head of cattle. Huge saguaros and a mix of other cacti, mesquite (notorious for being spread by cattle), palo verde, creosote, etc.

 Nice walk and it is 74 degrees when we return to the Trek.  Only four primitive campsites here and only one is occupied.  Might be a nice place to spend some time!

We continued north, through a border patrol checkpoint to the town of Why.  It is located where 86 and 87 join at a Y in the road, a well-known local landmark.  When some settlers wanted to incorporate as a town, the state of Arizona required any town to have at least three letters, so they named it Why.

Here we turn east on 86 and get gas at the Desert Diamond Casino.  We are on Tohono O'odham Reservation and will be for quite a while, as we head towards Tucson.  Mostly uninhabited desert, with many death memorials, some quite elaborate. Greg estimates we saw over a hundred in that 140 mile stretch. A ranger told us that drinking and driving is a problem on the reservation and many deaths are related to that.

Passed Kitt Peak Observatory but their evening programs all require advance reservations, so we continue on to Tucson and stop again at the Casa Del Sol Casino for the night.