Drove 90 miles or so down US-85 to Organ Pipe National Monument just 5 miles from the Mexican border. The first 15 miles thru the park is thru high concentrations of Saguaro cactus, many of them close to the road. These cactus are up to 20 feet high. What makes them different from other Saguaros I've seen is the many arms or branches that extend from them.
A quick stop at the visitor center produced a map showing the rest of the monument consists of a 21 mile loop drive and one of 51 miles. I chose the 21 mile drive first.
Saguaro cactus appeared in ever heavier concentrations and were never out of sight the entire drive. Hanging fruit cholla cactus were spread through the entire drive too. These were more like trees than bushes standing 4-5 feet tall with droopy type growths.
The drive leads up into the Ajo Mountains and as the ascent begins the Organ Pipe cactus begin to appear. This is basically a very skinny Saguaro that grows 10-15 feet high in clumps of 20 or more stalks. All in all a very nice drive over a fair road.
I went over to the 51 mile loop but then decided not to do it. Turning around I noticed an idiot light on the dash board come on saying "Check Engine". Sh*t! One other small problem. I'm 125 miles from a repair center that might be able to get required parts within a week. Oh yeah, one last teeny problem. No credit card. Mine was one of a group of cards recently compromised, probably on the Internet and was canceled and a new one issued... but I haven't received it yet.
The light was amber rather than red, the gauges all appeared normal and I didn't hear, feel or smell anything out of the ordinary. So, I drove the 125 miles to Casa Grande. Of course the Dodge dealer couldn't fit me in, nor could the first auto repair place they recommended. The second place ran computer diagnostics which revealed two sensors related to the catalytic converter recently installed had gone bad. $355. Hopefully I'll get that fixed up tomorrow.