Observatories and Special Cactus

Tucson and Wye, Arizona

(sightseeing)

January 3, 2017 -  January 6, 2017

Having been to Tucson many times to visit my mom, we've seen many, but not all, of the places tourists usually visit.  We decided to go and see two places we missed: Kitt Peak National Observatory and Organ Pipe National Monument.

Kitt Peak is located at almost 6900 feet in the Quinlan mountains, 56 miles SW of Tucson.  There are 24 different telescopes on the site and the astronomers who use them study a wide variety of different astronomical phenomenons.

This picture is directly off the Kitt Peak website.
It shows how extensive the area is along with some of their many telescopes.

 We chose to go to one of their nighttime programs, hoping the weather would be clear so we could actually look through a telescope and see something wonderful.  Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate so we weren't able to do that but we were able to visit and talk to two astronomers about the scientific work they were doing.

Two of the many telescopes as seen when we drove up to the evening program.
Due to the clouds, the second one is barely visible in the distance to the right of the first one.  

This is the mirror of a telescope we visited.
The scientist using it trying to determine how starts are born.
The scientist at the other telescope we visited was using it to
track near earth asteroids which might possibly hit the earth.

This is the back of the same telescope.
The many 'canisters' you see are used to compensate for temperature
changes which cause the mirror to change slightly in curvature.
The idea that someone designed and built these huge and very complicated
instruments boggles my mine. 

Next we took a 3 day trip over to Organ Pipe National Monument.  It's been on my list of places to see for a long time but it's so far from anything that we just could never make it work.  Now, with the motorhome, we were finally able to drive over and stay in their lovely campground.  If you get a chance to visit Organ Pipe - take it.  It's worth the drive.

View toward Mexico from Organ Pipe NM.
This is a beautiful, virtually unspoiled portion of the Sonoran desert.

There was lots of evidence of border patrol agents all along the route - along with signs warning of illegal immigrant activity in the area.  It's hard to imagine anyone trying to cross this hot, dry, prickly and unforgiving area.  I'm sure many die in the effort to have a better life.

Oregon Pipe Cactus - so called because early settlers thought the
skeletons of the cactus resembled organ pipes.
You can also see saguaro cactus on the right and left of the picture.

This is a rare formation on the top of a saguaro cactus.
It's called a crested saguaro and it's still not know what causes it.

The beauty of the Sonoran desert.
Cholla cactus in the foreground and middle of the picture.
Saguaro cactus in the middle and Oregon Pipe in the middle to the back. 

Organ Pipe cactus is rare in the U S but is found in abundance in Organ Pipe Nation Monument, making it a very special place.

For me the cycle of life is very apparent in the desert.  Maybe because the landscape is so harsh and rocky.

The ribs of a saguaro.  They were used in many ways by
Native Americans and early explorers in the area.

A fallen giant.

A partially dead Organ Pipe Cactus

The remains of a dead Organ Pipe cactus.

The internal framework of a Cholla cactus.

Here's a bit of information for you.  Perhaps like myself, some of you saw an old western movie that showed people surviving in the desert by cutting out chunks of cactus and sucking the water out of it. I was curious to know if that was true or not so I googled it.  You've got to love the internet when it comes to getting your questions answered almost immediately.  In truth, the ONLY cactus you'd want to use in such a situation is the fish hook barrel cactus. The others might kill you or make you so sick you'll wish you were dead!  There will be a quiz on this later!