Ajo and the U.S. Border

Rickster, Lola, and I spent the day exploring scenic Ajo, Arizona,a small, historic town about 25 miles north of the Mexican border. 
We were in the midst of a lush Sonoran Desert biosphere. And the Organ Pipe Cactus Nation Monument.

Between Ajo and the border is a minute town called Why. And this was the Why-Not Travel Store, a charming collection of everything you'd want or need in the middle of no where.

I enjoy perching by garbage cans, I guess. (I didn't notice it til I was fixing the pictures.) I'm so classy.

And I enjoy posing with my friend the organ pipe cactus.

This parasidic grown in the tree is known as desert mistletoe. A park ranger told me so. It's kind of creepy. We thought at first it was a bird's nest.                                                                  

 Beautiful vegetation abounds in this arid area.

The border fence and looking into Mexico.

Entering the U.S. Rick and I wondered how much contraband was hidden in this load of furniture. We're so suspicious.

Here's the fence running over the mountain to the west. Ominous.

This was once a school and is now apartments. I'd love to see the apartments inside. Charming old building. I snooped as much as I could and then a lady came out and asked me what I was doing. I told her the truth. "I have no idea where I am and what I'm doing!"

My best Vanna imitation inside the school.

This mammoth copper mine was once the heart of Ajo. Twenty-some years ago it closed down and much of the town folded up with it. It really is an amazing scar on the land, but it's also sad that so many lost their jobs when it went out.

Rick nearly wrecked the car backing up to get a picture of this heron. Then it flew off into the field. That white stuff is cotton that blows out of trucks when they haul it around this area of Ajo.

 

I didn't take pictures of the most hilarious part of the jaunt. We saw all these crosses and graves in this "cemetery" on the opposite side of the road. We love old tombstones and cemeteries so we flipped around and went back. As we drove through the gate, we saw that it said, "Ajo PET Cemetery." But it was too late by then, there was a car right behind us, so we drove on in. (There were indeed little pet graves for Angel and Buddy and Gypsy among others.)

OK, so not only one car came in behind us, two more big fancy Ford pickups drove in right after we parked. We discovered that we were in the middle of a pet funeral procession. Evidently, Fluffy or some other beloved creature had passed on. The mourners wore cowboy hats and one had on blue, bib overalls. We sneaked out before the ceremony started. Who in the world would think we'd be part of a pet funeral on our first (and most likely only) journey to Ajo? I was just relieved we left before they could ask Rick or me to speak or pray for the funeral. Lola thought it was most bizarre. She told me she was a'feared.