Great views at the top. We ended up out on a point above the arch and went up too late to backtrack down into the arch itself. Going up is really fun and good exercise, but I didn't care for the slippery scree and associated slow pace coming down.

Saw something new to me at the top: juniper tree as a nurse plant for a saguaro. Those two don't hook up often.

The poppies on the drive around this part of Organ Pipe are bustin' out crazy. Don't miss this if you have any time to get to see it. Brittle bush are all over the high slopes and near the road edge you find oodles of poppies rolled out like carpet. We saw dozens of people with tripods and big camera bags scampering up here and there to capture this amazing burst of yellow. Frantic competition for the best perch or angle.

If I am rating the flowers on the 21 mile Ajo Mountain Drive - it would be substantial or extreme. But there aren't many flowers on the rocky canyon section of the Arch Canyon trail itself.