Morning at Monte Vista

This morning we looped around the east side of Tortugas Mountain for half a mile, then followed an old mountain bike trail down into the major arroyo area. On the way we took this long shot of the Organ Mountains, the desert floor incredibly green in the foreground.
In the arroyo there are some huge specimens of Little-Leaf Sumac. Here's a closeup of the little leaves.
This huge bird nest caught our attention.
Closeup of the nest, which was about the size of a regulation basketball.

On the road that snakes toward the Organs, the return leg of our morning hike.