Fall Comes to the Desert

West of Tortugas Mountain

It was about 45F when Becca and I hit the trail west of Tortugas Mountain this morning, and it felt as if fall had finally made its way into the northern Chihuahuan Desert.  Fortunately the slight breeze that blew fairly consistently throughout our trek never grew into a wind; if it had we both would have been cold.  I was dressed appropriately for the chill:  long-sleeve shirt and vest, long trousers, and my Marmot PreCip jacket.  Becca chose to go with her standard-issue fur coat.  We had a nice long hike, running into only one other person west of the mountain, a young lady running down the road from the mountaintop.  It had warmed up only four degrees by the time we headed home:  49F.

Becca scoping out the territory

Magdalena Peak and its observatory

Organ Mountains

Sky to the west

Dragonfly on dead Stingleaf flower

Bit of a closeup

Road heading south

Changing Ocotillo leaves

A little closer look

Tortugas and the Organs

The happy trekker

Fallen Prickly Pear pad

Sunlight on the Robledos

Yellowing Ocotillo

Heavy overcast to the southeast

A bit closer in

Two slightly different views of a section of Las Cruces

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Trail up the mountain