We've turned left and are now heading east towards Yuma and into the searing desert heat. We could see the wall along the Mexican border from the highway. As we crossed the Coloado river into the city the temperature was 110 degrees. At 6:30 AM we headed for Gila Bend and then south to Ajo, our next destination, arriving at 10:30 AM. We had been advised by many people to leave early and arrive early to avoid the worst heat of the day and that worked well. Our cars' 'air conditioning' consisted of wet towels draped over our bodies and plenty of water.
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| Desert camp for ilegal aliens |
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| Saguaro Flowers |
 Organ Pipe cactus |
Temperature in Ajo was 112. In Ajo there is a small refuge for a very rare fish that lives in the desert. Steve and Sheila decided to put the roof up for the next day's travel. Friday morning 6:30AM found us on our way through the town of Why (we think it means "Why live here?") and then into Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Among the many beautiful varieties of cacti the Organ Pipe and Saguaro are truly stunning, to make it even better, they are all in bloom right now.
Back onto Hwy 86 east, where we stumbled upon Kitt Peak National Observatory, a 12 mile winding road took us from 2000 to 7000 feet. The 23 observatories are run by several universities as well as the American government. A tour of the 2.1 metre telescope was quite informative. Then down the mountain and off to Tucson for the next two nights.
