Twin Peaks Campground Review in Organ Pipe National Monument, Az

Hello again! It’s been a while since I made an appearance, I know. It’s just that a new job has kept me pretty busy among other things such as moving, getting utilities, studying, taking Trixie to the vet for recurring pancreatitis, spending quality time with a mouse, (new blog about that later) trying to find time to explore and just keeping house! Let’s see, where did I last drop you guys off? Ahh, yes- I was telling you about mom’s great experience with Freedom Rv in Tucson.

I was on my way from Las Cienegas to Organ Pipe National Monument. I stopped in Tucson for Rv ‘utilities’, groceries and to hug my mom’s neck while she was at Freedom Rv. Then I was off to the  Twin Peaks Campground at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona just north of the Mexico border.

So I got behind THIS behemoth on the way. Finally, it pulled over for people to pass. They had to block oncoming traffic for it to fit on the road. What a production!

I arrived at Twin Peaks Campground in the dark. (I didn’t plan well enough to get to my spot during the day but at least this was an actual campground with a site and I didn’t have to scout to find my site!) I was meeting up again with friends Shannon and David who I parked next to. The campground was easy to find and the spaces were spacious with plenty of room and landscape between sites. My fee was $16 a night which really is a deal with all of the amenities and programs that the place has.  With a senior pass, it’s half that price. There are no electrical or water hookups at this campground but there is water available at the dump station and they have potable water available throughout the campground. The bathrooms have electrical outlets and water.

Each site has a picnic table and a grill and there were some sites with covered areas as well.  We parked in a section that doesn’t allow generators so this made the campground stay very pleasant.

 

That’s an Ocotillo (Pronounced Oh-Ko- TEE-Yo) in the foreground with the red blooms. As you can see, the campground was not crowded at all.

I did not actually get to spend a whole lot of time in this campground as my dog Trixie had a pancreatitis attack again the next morning so I had to drive all the way back to Tucson to get her to the vet, and I spent the next two nights there.

When I got back to Twin Peaks, unfortunately, my friends had already departed for another adventure so I was on my own and it was time to explore.

My favorite two things I did while I was at this amazing place? Drive around of course! No really, if you know me you know how much I like to drive. First, I wanted to see the border. I drove South Puerto Blanco Drive which parallels the USA/Mexico border. This was a real eye opener. Two things really struck me.

1. There’s no real dissuasive fence. Just look:

Really?

2. I witnessed Mexicans getting caught RIGHT over the border on the US side. They were less than 25 yards from the fence. In the middle of broad daylight, didn’t look like they were really trying to not get caught, didn’t have any supplies that I could see and from what I have been told, this area on the other side of the border is really notorious for being controlled by drug lords and the affected people will do about anything to get out of there. Very, very sad. It looked like a large family and they did not look happy. I snapped this photo as stealthily as I could after passing them as to not be seen because it was rather rude to be taking a photo of their misery on that day. Still, I can’t believe I witnessed this.

There were more to the group that you don’t see pictured.

THE BORDER. Ooooooooooh.

The border is a big issue and I am not going to solve it so we’ll just move on.

I also hiked The steepest trail I’ve ever hiked in my life. Arch Canyon Trail. I had no idea it was going to be as steep and unmarked as it was but let me tell you- I was unprepared. The trail description only tells you about the first .6 miles. (“Easy trail that steadily climbs into a canyon”??? Who was smoking the dope?) I almost bailed when I got to the real climb about just 1/8 of the way up (Right where it started to get really hard) but then a guy carrying a baby on his back passed me, and my competitive nature kicked into gear and I COULD NOT turn back.  No way was I going to be beaten by a dude CARRYING AN INFANT. This photo shows you my feelings when I got all the way back down a week and a half later:

Yep. (Actually, this was taken a couple of days later when I thought I was going to do it again but then I came to my senses.)

I talked with some peeps right at the junction where it goes from flat to vertical in  who were debating whether certain members of the crew would be able to do the hike. I said ‘NO’ so they did not go, and were relieved. I may have saved a life.  So here are a few photos of the hike.

I may have saved two of their lives. LOL!

The view from the top of Arch Canyon. You can get to the arch somewhere a little further up,  as my friend Lynn did from Tales From The Mutiny, but at this point, I had had it!

Why it’s called ‘Arch Canyon’. See the arch? See the moon? I tried to get the moon inside the arch but it wasn’t in the cards. 

The arch again… and this is the 21 mile Ajo Mountain Drive that leads you to a few different hikes. You can get a guide map at the Kris Eggle Visitor Center about 1.5 miles from the campground which will show you marked points of interest along the way. Or, you can take one of the free van tours from the campground.

Here’s the trailhead to Arch Canyon Trail.

The headless horseman cactus

Looked to me like a mummified face or skull

Mountains everywhere

Arch Canyon Trail antics (What happens when you get to feeling crazy for hiking this trail)

So that was fun. I also hiked the Victoria Mine trail that starts right from the campground. It’s a 4.5-mile round trip hike on the south side of the campground.  However, I left a weeeee bit late in the afternoon so the mine is as far as I got… and on my way back I had to RUN because it was getting dark so fast! That was not fun. Rookie mistake. (I’ll make it again sometime.)  It’s so close to the border- I definitely didn’t want to be out at night on my own! Yes, I ran the last half mile. Made it back before dark!

Nice Organ Pipe Cactus at the campground

 

Here’s a part of the abandoned Victoria Mine

 

More mine litter.

I wonder how often this gets used by Mexicans?

How to know that you are near the Mexican border

This campground has VERY good programs for its residents. There are nightly presentations you may attend on various subjects. The Kris Eggle Visitor Center is an excellent place to get information about the surrounding area. Also, you can find more about the campground and a map by going to the official website for the Twin Peaks Campground.

After enjoying Organ Pipe, I headed to Joshua Tree National Park. Here’s a preview or three before I punch out that blog. Thanks for reading!

Joshua Tree National Park

My first boondocking spot at South Joshua Tree. Then I moved to the north side. 

Nice morning light inside JT NP