2002-03 . . . Episode 7 - Cactus and Ruins

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

---

I noticed as we were going down to Mexico, the desert terrain really started changing just as we were coming into the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument area and became even more pronounced as we got across the Mexican border - more Cholla, more Saguaro and certainly more Organ Pipe Cacti - so learning a bout the differences and going through the park was very interesting.

The cacti we saw are actually more resistant to the cold but need more moisture. The park, itself, includes a lot of higher areas like the Ajo Mountains mountain ranges and they claim it is the only area that the Organ Pipe grows in the U.S. but it is most abundant on the Mexican side of the border.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is part of the Sonora Desert and just north of the Mexican border. They have set it aside to preserve the Organ Pipe Cactus.

We had our first experience staying on BLM lands. The Bureau of Land Management lands are unimproved areas where you can camp. There are different areas - the long-term costs $125.00 for a season permit and you can stay there for the entire season. Where we stayed, there was no cost, but you are only allowed to stay 14 days at a time. O.K. by us, we've discovered that two weeks works just fine. Being on the BLM land is certainly different experience. Rigs are scattered scarcely over several square miles some in groups and some individually. These folks have actually developed quite a community. We even went to a community breakfast in "Why" and met people from all over.

I became even more struck by the desolation of the desert here because there is so little civilization around us. Again the sunrises and sunsets are most spectacular. The lush farmland from Gila Bend up to Casa Grande is quite a contrast to the mountains and the desert we'd been in for so long.

---

Casa Grande

---

Casa Grande National Monument is another ancient ruins site.

The Hohokam lived in compounds with a 7 foot high wall surrounding them. The Casa Grande (Big House) was built in the early 1300's and stood about 35 feet high. They thought it may have functioned as an observatory and calendar. There are windows that align with the sun or moon various significant times of the year. It contains hundreds of imported wood beams that was only accessible over fifty miles away. The special building material (caliche) they used is concrete-like and found a few feet underground. Layers of caliche were piled up about every two feet.

The vision of the ancient people living in the dwellings and compounds and

building those huge structures and canals with no machines . . . unbelievable! I am astounded at how many different tribes there were down here and how far back they date. There's evidence of settlements as far back as 9000 BC and there must be over a dozen different, distinctive cultures. The tribe that settled the Casa Grande area were the Hohokams and they actually were farmers and had extensive irrigation systems.

 

The Tohono O'odham (near where we camped) traditionally seem to be much closer to the Navajo. They depended a lot more on the wild life for their food. I've been looking for some traditional foods but haven't found any yet.

---

2002-03 . . . Episode 6 - Ole'

We stayed at Tombstone Territories through the holidays until after New Years and then went down to Benson, AZ to join Fred (Jan & Fred) while Jan went off to Florida for two weeks.

Each RV Park has its own attractions and drawbacks. While Tombstone Territories was new and trying to get established and facilities-wise had a lot of work to do, Pato Blanco Lakes (Benson) has been going for a few years and the property and facilities are well established. The lakes attract the birds and animals, as well as the people.

In the more established RV parks and resorts (as many of them call themselves resorts), there is often a group of permanents (RV'ers who return each year for a period of time or have permanent trailers set up). They seem to set the tone and activities for the place and also tend to resist others trying to do something different. One couple (who actually live full time in their 5th wheel) offered to set up a Fun dog trial afternoon. They certainly weren't encouraged. Most times the transient RV'ers are expected to participate and volunteer but certainly not initiate. From Benson we moved onto Ajo AZ via Hwy 86 and our last stop before going into Mexico and Rocky Point.

---

Mexico

---

We have been in Mexico before but never took the 5th wheel so we were feeling concerned and vulnerable (kind of scary and exciting at the same time). We had no problems at all, although we got more insurance than we needed ( we've chalked that up to a learning expense). Actually, crossing the border was nothing!! The Customs guy didn't even get off his chair when we drove through. Lukeville (where we crossed the border) is a typical border town . . . busy, vendors, narrow streets and dirty. It takes a little while to change your mind set to try and read and understand the signs (it has become my job to read all the signs as we go down the road).

Again, the terrain changes!! The road down to Rocky Point continues through the Sonora Dessert for about 90 kms and you see even more Organ Pipe, Saguaro and Cholla Cacti. There tends to be more and bigger growth here because of the more moderate night temperatures, lower altitude and more precipitation, so the desert is covered with a blanket of vegetation. There seems to be less Organ Pipe Cacti on the US side than across the border in Mexico.

Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) is a fishing village cum winter haven for northern tourists. In town there is one R.V. Park after another all bunched together close to the centre of town. The sites are so close, you can open your window and ask the people next to you to butter your toast. We did manage to find a park about 5 km away right on the beach. It seems not too many people had discovered it (it had only been open for about a month) and the services were limited but had everything we needed ( water, power & sewer ), ocean and beach. There were four other R.V.'s in the park when we arrived, one pulled out another one came in and we literally had a whole sandy beach to ourselves for almost the entire first week.

Our backyard was the ocean (actually it is the Sea of Cortez) beach and each morning we woke up to a more exquisite sunrise than the day before and listened to hundreds of sea birds to the background of the water rushing in. Besides watching the tides go in and out, we took daily walks along the beach . . . it changes and stays the same every day. A good size pod of dolphins joined us almost every morning fishing and playing right in the water off our beach while we sat out with our morning coffee and watched them.

We are about 5 kms from the actual town site of Puerto Penasco (or Rocky Point) and only went into town when we need to (usually every two or three days). The back way into town goes through (what the Gringos call) Shacks Fifth Avenue. It runs for about two or three blocks and is lined on both sides by vendors and shops - all the trinkets, T-shirts, blankets, etc for the Gringos to buy. The road is narrow, washboardy, with pot holes we could lose the truck in.

The Fish Market in town is (of course) right along the water. On one side of the street is one fish market stall after another selling shrimp, scallops and all kinds of fish. There are big restaurants and small outdoor cafes or locals selling burritos and tacos right out of the trunks if their cars. Most of the clothing and souvenir type places are on the other side of the street. Each stall displays its wares out front so the street is a blast of colour and BUSY - people everywhere. As you enter the street there are usually uniformed restaurant people waving menus and inviting you to come eat at their place. Then there are fish hawkers waving shrimp and every time you stop (which is about two or three feet) some one will come up offering to sell you something - best prices in town; almost for nothing. It is an experience!

We went on a tour of CEDO (the International Center for the Studies of Deserts and Oceans) on Tuesday. Oceans and Deserts are not something I've paid a lot of attention to in the past, but being here, you start to appreciate just how much of the earth is ocean and desert and how Man has effected the ecology even though they both seem so vast and endless.

Food can be very reasonable. Fred's fishing trip netted us about five good feeds, some flounder and some other fish we're not sure what they are called. We went clamming with a couple from Missouri and we I made a big batch of clam chowder for all of us. We dug a whole bucketful of clams and by the time we got them all shelled there was barely enough meat to make enough chowder for 6 people. It was fun, though - both the digging and trying to co-ordinate three cooks to get the chowder together. After the first week, we managed to find the markets, bakeries and cafes frequented by the local people frequent, which made things more fun as well as reasonable. I think we could easily have stayed for a couple more weeks but adding the extra insurance makes it very expensive.

Reluctantly, we left Mexico and started our journey north and west - destination Yuma (after visiting the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the ruins at the Casa Grande National Monument).

2002-03 . . . Episode 5 - Biosphere2

Bioshpere2 is about 30 miles NE of Tucson on Hwy 77. They call it a living laboratory for the earth and the environment. It is a 3 acre enclosed environment covered with glass and steel (like a green house). They brought in untreated plants, air, soil and water to emulate the various ecological systems . . . the ocean . . . the desert . . . the rainforest . . . and use different types of technology to control the atmosphere, rainfall and wind, as well as, test how these systems respond when exposed to various levels of carbon dioxide and other atmosphere-modifying elements. The whole thing is fascinating ! !

The lungs are particularly interesting. Each consists of a large aluminum disc which has a rubber membrane connected to it and then connected to the side of the dome. When looked at from above it would resemble the surface of a drum with a metal plate surrounded by rubber (to make sure that the air pressure inside the glass structure stays at a safe level). In the daytime when the temperature inside of Biosphere2 increases, expanded air rushes in to the two "lungs" via large tunnels and then at night when the structure cools and contracts, air in the lungs flows back in to Biosphere2.

The original design included The Human Habitat (to house 10 people) and eight people did manage to survive in there for two years BUT the initial problems they ran into included insufficient levels of oxygen and an inability to produce as much food as they thought they could. Apparently, they had not accounted for the amount of oxygen it would take to cure the concrete they used - that accounted for the tower levels of oxygen - and rather than rely on their gardens, they utilized the various other biome's to produce food. For example, the planted additional bananas and papayas in the rainforest.

They actually hauled a million gallons of water right from the ocean to develop the Ocean Biome.

One of the present experiments includes how an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would effect the coral in the ocean. The coral exhibits are spectacular. The experiments tend to indicate that the increase carbon dioxide is destroying the coral. I would like to get back there sometime.

We're hoping to get to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Forest next (around Why and Ajo) and then down to Rocky Point in Mexico.