Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument: Most Dangerous Park

[BorregoWrangler]

Here's an interesting article on the security provided by the rangers at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. This is an area, along with others, in Arizona that I've been wanting to check out. I've never liked "guided tours" but this stuff would have me rethinking that.

ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz. -- On a hot desert morning last week, a group of 20 tourists gathered in the visitor center in Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to attend a mandatory safety briefing before taking a guarded van tour to Quitobaquito springs. The springs is part of the 69 percent of the remote border park west of Tucson that has been closed to the public since Kris Eggle, a 28-year-old law enforcement park ranger, was shot and killed while pursuing drug runners armed with AK-47s in 2002.

Organ Pipe was named "the most dangerous national park" that year and also in 2003 by the U.S.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/figh ... 42614.html

[DaveK]

Here's an interesting article on the security provided by the rangers at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. This is an area, along with others, in Arizona that I've been wanting to check out. I've never liked "guided tours" but this stuff would have me rethinking that.

The Organ Pipe NM has been on my list of must see places in Arizona for a long time as well, but I have avoided it for just this reason.

A guided tour might be OK, as long as the guides are skilled, well armed, and there are a lots of them. That tends to take the fun out of the trip though!