Today we adventured through Organ Pipe National Monument. The first stop that we made was a spring that was pretty impressive considering it was in the middle of a desert. In this spring we found minnows which were endangered and some very cute turtles. (I’m not supposed to say this but) I assisted Jacob in catching one of the teeny tiny fish and it was really cute! I walked around the spring and saw a little scorpion and a bunny and a lot of birds. But the most exciting and memorable part of this day was when we were driving to stop for lunch and Cody slammed on the breaks and made us all get out of the car to look at a Gila monster he found on the side of the road! It was kind of bigger than I thought it would be and he was a nice black and orange color. We hiked some more through this park and found some pretty flowers and some really interesting cactuses.
We hiked through Hellhole Canyon but I am happy to say my experience did not live up to its name. This is definitely my favorite hike that we have done on this trip because of the abundance of things to see. Lexus, Jacob, Josh, and I began the (already long 6 mile) hike with a detour up a little hill in search of snakes and although we didn’t find any it was still fun to look around and see everything else. On the way up we saw a spring and trees and grasses that I wouldn’t have expected to see in a desert setting, but the most exciting thing we saw was the snake we found under a log. I thought I’d be scared of it but this one was tiny and really pretty and although I didn’t hold it myself I pet it and it was super cool. Once we made it to the top we saw a waterfall and a wall full of ferns and other plant life I was surprised to see and Cody was right, it was worth the hike up. On the way down, after a little sprinting race between a couple of us, we took a different route and I saw a bunch of rabbits and a rodent of some kind. With ice cream as a motivator, we finished the hike down in a fraction of the time it took to climb up.
I am writing this approximately 4200 feet up on granite mountain. I am incredibly impressed with the nature and the beauty found in this place that I wouldn’t have expected. Climbing up was a difficult task but I am proud to say that I was able to do it even when I doubted that I could. The stream of water, the flowers, the birds, everything we saw impressed me more than the last because of the diversity and the ability of these species to live in this place. Although climbing through the plants and sliding down the rocks made it a little harder than expected, this climb was one of the coolest things I have ever done and I’m proud to say I got as far as I did. I was admittedly one of those people who didn’t expect to see many life forms in the desert and a lot more sand, this place specifically has already changed my opinion on that. I’m excited to climb the sand dunes next although I’m expecting it to be even harder. All of the exciting adventures and possibilities in just this location has convinced me that I want to move out of Florida and move somewhere where I can hike and climb mountains and explore nature, although it may not be in this exact remote location.
