Not enough bars on our cell phones last night to do any more than a couple texts, so we’ll catch up today.
Yesterday
First thing Thursday morning we drove the 21 mile Ajo Loop in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It is a dirt road loop that took us deep into the canyons laced with all forms of cacti. Most of the day was spent driving landscape that slowly changed from cacti studded desert to the dry mesquite grassland of our overnight stop in the Buenos Aires NWR.
We did take a detour up to the Kitt’s Peak Observatory complex. We went from I guess around 4000 feet to almost 7000 feet elevation in a short 12 mile drive. It was high enough that there was snow piled up on the side of the road. We got there too late in the day to do much before they closed at 4 pm. We went through the visitor center and took a few photos.
We arrived at the NWR and shared the spacious campground with only one other camper, that we could see.
Today
We took our easiest showers yet, first thing this morning (ahhh), then hit the road. The big sighting of the day was a family of javalina rooting on the side of the road. We went through Arivaca, Nogales (where we saw the “wall” and got our first glimpse of Mexican shanties this trip), Patagonia, Tombstone (meh) and arrived at Whitewater Draw around 3 pm. There are literally thousands of sandhill cranes here around a small lake. We hunkered down for the evening and will hike out for a closer look at the cranes in better light in the morning.
DR & Laura
VanGo.blog 
FYI, when you were driving north out of Nogales & Patagonia, you then went right thru the town of Sonoita, where my good friend Tom Calhoun had retired . . . a very scenic area, eh?
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Scenic and remote. Cute little towns. Laura really liked Patagonia.
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We will bow our heads for a moment of silence for good old Tom Cahoun and remember is dry wit.
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