Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a good 2.5 hour drive from Tucson. Morning rush hour traffic slowed us down as we made our way across the city. We then lost more time doing u-turns on SR 86 to find an open gas station to fill up the tank. That turned out to be a good use of time as just outside the greater city limits the services become downright scarce and then non-existent.
The drive to the monument is through the Sonoran Desert. Although the Sonoran Desert region has a wide variety of biomes, this stretch near the highway appeared to be seas of sand and expanses of desert pavement that seemed nearly devoid of visible life. Though we did spy several hawks perched on telephone poles by the side of the highway.
