Windy Day

The pavilion on the Sunset Side of the mountain.

The trail heading south through the mountain foothills.

A Devil's Head with a goiter.

Basketball-player tall Yucca with teammates.

Ocotillos on the bank of a steep arroyo.

West Side Scramble

Two-headed Yucca and Ocotillos on the western flank of Tortugas.

A sandy arroyo west of the mountain.

Soaptree Yucca, Creosote Bushes, Mesquites and Ocotillos growing in an arroyo.

The old observatory atop Tortugas Mountain.

Paisano

An aerial view of a ponding area in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Looking west along Dripping Springs Road back toward the city of Las Cruces.

Roadrunners have been called "Paisano," a Spanish word that means "friend" or "countryman."

Boulders that have been quarried on Tortugas Mountain, the floor of the desert in the background.

Walks in Beauty

A colorful butterfly in the desert.

Beauty in flight.

The thorny desert.

A tangled mass of vegetation.

A rocky cliff.

Quick Trip in the Sun

Ocotillo and Hedgehog Cactus on a steep slope.

An Ocotillo on the western flank of Tortugas Mountain.

Becca's shade break--well, she's not completely in the shadow.

The New Trail

A deep arroyo on the west side of Tortugas.

The Portillo Mountains on the far horizon.

Heading west.

Am I on the right track?

Tortugas from the far west side.

Spit Upon

Becca and I got sprinkled upon this morning, but we didn't get soaked like we did yesterday.

The distant mountains.

The Franklin Mountains near El Paso.

Ocotillos in the morning light.

Becca on the "new" trail on the west side of Tortugas.

Getting Soaked

This is the storm system that eventually produced enough moisture to soak Becca and me.

Storm clouds over the Organ Mountains.

Heading into the storm.

The mysterious Organs.

The rugged mountains.

Sunday Hike

Blue sky and clouds over Tortugas's north flank.

Sky, clouds, mountain.

The Four Sisters wearing their Sunday-go-to-meeting bonnets.

The long view back toward Tortugas.

Dona Ana Mountains.

East of Tortugas

The Organ Mountains in the early-morning sunlight.

Half-and-Half.

Light and dark.

Tortugas Mountain beneath a veil of clouds.

Some kind of sign?

Waltzing on the West Side

This small bridge over a narrow arroyo is badly in need of repair.

The new observatory at the top of Tortugas Mountain.

This Barrel Cactus blossom almost looks like a confection.

Some genius--driving his SUV on an extremely narrow mountain-bike path--got stuck bigtime.

Another angle.