El Camino del Diablo, or the Devil's Highway, is one of two roads spanning the distance of the Cabeza Priesta National Wildlife Refuge. Located between Ajo and Yuma, the Cabeza is home to the greatest diversity of plants and animals of any desert in North America. 92% of the 60 mile territory has been declared wilderness and is home to Sonoran pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and 40 foot saguaro cactuses. The Refuge borders the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, has a selection of campgrounds, and offers magnificent views of the night sky and desert.

For those of you who take delight in retracing the steps of explorers before you, the Devil's Highway is your mecca. In 500 ad the Hohokam used the Highway to make their annual pilgrimage to the Sea of Cortez. The road was also used as a shortcut to California during the Gold Rush. But before you pack your bags, there are a few things you should know about the Cabeza Priesta National Wildlife Refuge:

* YOU MAY BE SHOT AT
The Cabeza shares a 56 mile border with Mexico. For the last few years, the Devil's Highway has been used by migrants and drug runners as a way into Arizona and many of the runners carry automatic weapons.

* ITS A REAL DUMP
There is 8 pounds of trash per migrant crossing the refuge. At 500,000 migrants apprehended in Arizona in 2005, that's 4 million pounds of trash.

* F'16s ARE LOUD
Although the Refuge borders Organ Pipe on one side, it borders the Goldwater Air Force Range on the others. The range is no longer in use but pilots still have flyover rights to the Cabeza.

*THE HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT
Before entering the park, you must sign a statement declaring that you understand you may die from falling into "old mine shafts", the area "occupies one of the most extreme environments in North America," and that the area "contains the danger of ... permanent, painful and ... disfiguring injury or death due to high explosive detonations."

Click here to learn more about the Cabeza and the struggles the Border Patrol are facing. To review a true account of 26 Mexican men making the journey from Veracruz to the Devil's Highway, read The Devil's Highway: A True Story, by Luis Alberto Urrea.