Or first morning in Ajo began with a good homestyle breakfast provided by our host Mike. He served coconut French toast with a slice of ham and fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapple chunks and bananas) on the side. Rich had his usual coffee and I chose peppermint tea. We were the only guests, so we spent most of breakfast chatting with Mike about the history of Ajo and how much it changed after the mine shut down. It’s the same sad story happening all over the U.S. He used to work for the mine, too. He and his mother were lucky to be able to buy the inn several decades ago; at least it has provided steady work and a purpose for them, and he seems to enjoy his role as host. For others in the town, the outlook isn’t so great, and many people have left. There seems to be a movement to turn the town into an artists’ haven (the old Curley School, for example, now houses apartments and a community for artists and artisans). And the opening of the Agave Grill might be another good sign that at least some younger people are investing in the town. We explained our interest in searching for benchmarks and how they encourage us to delve deeply into the history of a place. Mike didn’t recall seeing the disks at the Curley School or the old railroad station, but he said he would look for them when he was out and about.
Then we were off to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument! Yes, it’s the second national park/monument in Arizona named after a cactus, and that gives me a little thrill every time I see the name. It’s one of our favorite places, but I have never been able to explore it fully. The last time we were here, the western side was completely closed to visitors following some unfortunate violence along the Mexican border.
This is a hotter and drier area than Tucson and the vegetation shows the differences quite clearly. The are only a few prickly pears here and there south of Ajo, while they are very common in Tucson. The hedgehogs (Echinocereus)here approach a foot tall and have long golden spines. This is the northern end of the range of the organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), and the extreme northern end of the range of the senita cactus (Pachycereus schottii), so senitas are quite rare to encounter. Saguaros, whose range extends further north, are still abundant here.
Our goal was to hike at least 5 miles so we could earn another Hike for Health pin like we did at Tumacacori. We had two hikes in mind, both to mines. One was Milton mine, a hike which Rich experienced years ago, and Baker mine, which was new to both of us. We ultimately chose the hike to Baker mine. Just an out-and-back hike to Baker would give us 5 miles plus; and we would also have the option, depending on how we felt at the time, to complete a loop, including the Senita Basin trail.
We didn’t have any trouble on our way to the mine, although the desert sure was heating up, especially as we got closer to the mine and the time approached late morning. The air temperature was easily tolerable, in the low 90s, and there was a light breeze much of the time. But the sun was sizzling off the sand and rock beneath our feet!
The trail (actually a former mining road) is fairly level with easy footing. The main hazards were burrsage (those damned burrs fill up sandals in no time) and the ever-present cholla! We noticed a slight elevation gain overall, especially along the second half of the trail. The mine itself was the small opening in the side of the hill typical of mines in this area, with a ventilation shaft higher up on the hill.
The return hike was hotter and we were both pretty glad to see the car, mostly just because of the searing sun. We had already gone through several liters of water and needed more. But just a few minutes in the car and we were already quite cool and dry.
After another stop at the visitors center, where we bought some more cactus candy and pomegranate candy as well, we decide to do the Ajo Mtn Drive. It is a very rough road in many spots but also very scenic add it winds upn through the lower levels of the mountains, twisting and turning and gig up and down into washes, and back up again. I had to stop at one point to water a Saguaro.
We were both pretty tired after finishing the drive so we headed right back to town and went directly to the restaurant we wanted to try, 100 Estrella. It was an odd place in some ways, but the food was a massive improvement over last night’s meal! We both had draft beers: I had a Barrio Beach Blonde and Rich had something from 4 peaks. Then we both had cheeseburgers, mine with the addition of green chile and Rich’s with the addition of fried onions. The fries were hand-cut, skin-on shoestring style and I really liked them. We were far too stuffed for dessert!