Lost Dutchman State Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

After departing Sedona, AZ we headed south towards the Phoenix area where we encountered vast desert vistas very different from the mountainous red rock landscapes of Sedona. We camped at Lost Dutchman State Park which is in the Sonoran Desert at the base of the Superstition Mountains, about a half hour east of Phoenix. We had a beautiful campsite close to our friends and had evening fires and dinners together every night. We could see the lights of Phoenix and its suburbs at night.

Lights of Phoenix from the campsite. Beautiful sunsets.

The park offered a number of trails right from our campsites and Liz, Terri and Kathleen headed out several times. The main hike that many come to Lost Dutchman for is the Flatiron hike. A little too challenging for us because of the steep scrambling required to get to the top, but it was fun to watch the hikers' headlamps as they made their way up there at night.

Flatiron in the Superstition Mountains

Our campsite was on the outside edge of the upper loop with excellent views. The Flatiron photo above is from our site! The opening on the right-hand side is the approach route to do the 6-mile roundtrip 2800' vertical hike.

This was beautiful place to spend a few days and experience the Sonoran Desert.

Organ Pipe Catus National Monument

Next, we continued our journey and headed even further south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which is only about 7 miles from the Mexican border. This is a very remote park with a beautiful campground.

We joined up with more friends here - Jan and Rich from California, and Kathlene and Craig from Wyoming. We had a delicious dinner each night with everyone contributing and then settling into the evening with a campfire (propane)

This is a very quiet place with amazing night skies. We unfortunately had a full moon on the nights we were here so that eliminated the night ski photography, but we certainly didn't need a flashlight and the moon rising over the desert was unforgettable. The sunrise every morning did not let us down either. It was so gorgeous with the cactus and desert plants (Liz is taking Clint's word for it because she was still sleeping).

Hiking here like most places in AZ can be hot. Temps topped out for us in the upper 70s and required a bit of acclimatization from our Washington winters. Here the group hiked the Victoria Mine trail to an old mine and encampment.

We enjoyed lazy days just soaking up the warm, quiet dessert landscapes. It felt like we were camping in the middle of a gorgeous cactus garden! One evening we went to hear a ranger talk about owls. She went over the 5 varieties of owls found here in Organ Pipe. In the pictures below, the Organ Pipe cactus is the one on the left, and Saguaro is in the middle.

We have not talked much about Daisy, but she is really settling into RV life. Here are a few photos of her in her favorite snuggly places, including enjoying the sun and view of a Saguaro cactus from the camper doorway!

Organ Pipe Cactus NM is certainly a spot that everyone should visit, even though it's a bit off the beaten path. Its remoteness is part of what makes it special. We could only spend 3 nights here on this trip, but we will be coming here again on a future winter trip when we can spend a lot more time hiking and exploring.

Next stop is Saguaro National Park near Tucson!