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Friday, September 19, 2014

After Odile

Las Cruces and the Robledo Mountains
When I went out into the backyard with Becca this morning it was still sprinkling from yesterday's all-day rain event.  Fortunately, though, we were able to get in a very long trek without even getting spit upon.  The clouds left behind by Tropical Storm Odile were dynamic, making for excellent vistas.  The Robledo Mountains (pictured in the first and last images here) were named after Pedro Robledo who died on May 21, 1598 and is buried nearby.  He was, supposedly, the first casualty of the Juan de Oñate expedition.  On April 30, 1598 Oñate claimed all land north of the Rio Grande at El Paso for the Spanish Empire.
Getting in a long hike at last

Pointing toward the Organ Mountains (where are they?)


The Organ Mountains looking like a distant mesa

Local color

On the road again

Rarely will you see an entire Ocotillo blooming this late in the season


Ocotillo flowers

Hummingbird conductor

Clouds crowding the desert floor

A very plump Devil's Head engorged on recent rainwater

A different perspective of the flowering Ocotillo

On the horizon the Potrillo Mountains

Finger cholla (pronounced choy-ya)

This hill is covered in Chinchweed flowers

The Organ Mountains are out there somewhere

The outer loop road heading back to Tortugas Mountain

The way we just came

The color will fade soon

Looking iffy over the Tortoise

Southern section of the Organs

This is how much the clouds have changed since we started off

3 comments:

Scott said...

It seems to me you've gotten decent rain this year between the monsoon and the tropical storm remnants. Do you have any idea how the precipitation stacks up compared to other years?

You're certainly correct that the clouds make for dramatic images of the desert.

Birds around here in the northern Piedmont will occasionally seek shelter under buildings and overhangs if we've had very, very long periods of heavy rain, but I notice them more often hunkering down under the eves during winter snowstorms.

Dr. K said...

I can hardly remember ocotillo blooming this late in the season. Shows you what rain will bring.

packrat said...

Scott:

According to local meteorologists we're about .67" below where we were last year, but that's precipitation measured at the local airports; as people always say, though, "who lives at the airport?" We average about 8 to 9 inches per year. High Rolls/Mountain Park averages about 12 inches per year, but we've already had over 14" since we put up our new rain gauge on March 8, 2014.

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