When I first arrived in Arizona, as I said in previous blog posts, the desert was an unwelcome and very uncomfortable surprise that I had no idea how to deal with. I liked greenery, trees, and running water. Arizona, I guess unsurprisingly, is not known for these physical characteristics. More like, arid weather, lots of brown things, many cacti, and foreign animals.
I will honestly say that I did not take the transition well. It started with a jolt of fear when first seeing the javelina outside of the Best Western in Tucson. Then on the mission on the reservation, I stayed up until 2 am with my light on with adrenaline pumping because I was worried if I turned it off scorpions and rattlesnakes would just start emerging from the walls. Naturally, the javelina did not pose a threat, in fact they make for very cute stuffed animals, and we luckily didn’t see any scorpions and rattlesnakes.
Yet, by the time we arrived in Ajo, something had changed. When we were driving to Organ Pipe National Monument for a hike, I realized I was looking fondly at all of the cacti. Instead of unnerving me, the cacti had started to intrigue me, especially the teddy bear cactus that we saw on the hike. Not to say that I was completely at ease in the environment, especially all the plants we had to wade through while hiking, but I certainly was heartbroken to leave.
I texted my family on the day we were leaving Ajo with lots of photos and links to places we had gone in Ajo. I told that that we are going to have our next family vacation to Ajo so that I can share with them the city and southern Ariona area that I have fallen in love with.
I used to have a similar fear of the desert and indeed any warm place. I used to think, why would anyone live outside of Minnesota where its too cold for poisonous animals, where there is plenty of water, and where there’s always enough snow in the winter for skiing? The Sonoran Desert is about as different from northern Minnesota as a landscape can be and still be on Earth. But I absolutely agree; the beauty of desert is easy to fall in love with. I could have spent another week hiking around the Saguaro and Organ Pipe parks as well as on the Nation. Every environment has its own charms.
If you do return, I recommend making plans to visit El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere – the national park over the border in Mexico. (which unfortunately didn’t make it onto the itinerary this year) It is clearly still part of the Sonoran Desert with much in common with Organ Pipe, but also quite distinct.