Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

 Sunrise with saguaro.

Sunrise with EDGE.

Sunrise with saguaro and cholla.

Cholla cactus.

Organ pipe cactus.

Cholla in foreground. L to R in rear: organ pipe, 'hands up Black Bart' sagauro, sunbird in spring plumage.

Cholla and mesquite, organ pipe in left rear.

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OPCNM is part of the Sonoran Desert and is located on the AZ/Mexico border. Most of the Sonoran Desert is in Mexico and includes nearly all of the Baja plus a goodly portion across the Gulf of California on the mainland; a smaller portion is in SE CA and a somewhat larger portion in SW AZ. OPCNM was one of the first in the national park system, established by FDR in 1937. This is the only place in the US where the organ pipe cactus is found.
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The Sonoran is bordered by the Mohave Desert (LHC is in the Mohave) to the northwest. The Sonoran gets more precipitation and as a result is more diverse and abundant in its flora and fauna than is the Mohave. Indeed, OPCNM has dozens of varieties of cacti and other desert plants, so attractively spaced that it looks professionally landscaped. However, Mother Nature is the landscaper here, not man. Mother carefully spaces the plants such that each can draw enough water from the parched soil to survive.
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The namesake cactus is not as dramatic and imposing as the saguaro - which can reach a height of 50’, weigh several tons and live for 200 years. Organ pipes are aptly named in that they are armless, upright and bunching; they average 15’ in height at maturity. They first blossom around age 35, and do so only at night. Come morning, the blossoms have wilted: one night, that’s it, game over, see ya next year. Bats somehow know when it’s time for the annual event: they boogie on up from Mexico to party, drink the nectar from the blossoms, pollinate. It’s the bat version of spring break.
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The brochure says that bobcats sleep on the tops of the saguaro cactus. Huh! A thorny proposition. The topmost thorns must be a lot softer than those further down. Cats are great jumpers so they would have no problem hopping up onto the tops of the shorter saguaros - but I can’t imagine them climbing to reach the tops of the taller ones and becoming puddy tat pincushions in the process.