A Visit to Ajo and Why

No, not “why” … but Why!

You bet, Why is a (very) small town in southern Arizona. Actually, Why is only 25 miles from our border with Mexico. Yes, the border wall is in place there, and yes, LOTS of people, young and old, climb that wall to get over to freedom and, hopefully, better lives.

I spent a couple nights at an RV campground in Why and had the opportunity to talk with locals and a gentleman who has been working on the border wall for months. The overriding fact that came up was the wall is being breached, for drug runs and people trafficking day in and day out. Sad, but true. Our Border Patrols can’t keep up with the volume of folks climbing up and over that barrier.

On the other hand, both Ajo and Why are lovely small towns, as you can see below.

Ajo has turned into quite an artist community, as these murals show.

Not to get political, but in my travels I drove through many Native American reservations, from CRIT to Apache to O’ogham to Cherokee and more. The conditions so many of them live in are truly sad. This mural touched my heart, especially since my great-great-grandmother was said to be, yet unproven, but in the words of my paternal grandmother she was a “Cherokee Indian woman”.

The now inactive copper mine in Ajo was an amazing sight.