Very Early Start

We had to get an early start this morning, a short while before the sun rose high enough to kiss the desert earth.  This is always a dynamic time of the day, clouds ablaze with sunlight, shadows giving three-dimensionality to the landscape.  Not to mention it's always cooler before old Sol rides high in the sky.  The wind was an irritant this morning, though, blowing hard and steady, gusting to cap-snatching levels.

Time of the Season

Into the desert

Yellowing leaves on the Ocotillo is one of the surest signs of the change of seasons in the desert.  The days are not quite so hot, and the evenings have been cooling down nicely.  Soon a vest or light jacket will be a requirement for early-morning hiking.

A yellowing Ocotillo

Rocky foothills of Tortugas Mountain

Stretch

Harbingers of winter

Artistic Renderings

Here are a few computer-enchanced photographs for your viewing pleasure.  Using the "Dry Brush" technique under the "Artistic" function in the "Filter" category of Photoshop produces something akin to a realistic painting using either oil or acrylic.

Austerity

Along the foothills trail

One thing that appeals to me about the Chihuahuan Desert is its austerity.  You can see its skeleton--the very essence of things.  And you can look a long way across the desert, so much so you often feel as if you can see the curve of the Earth.

to the trail down the mountain



and into the desert flatland



Can't Trust That Day

Becca on the Crosscut Trail

Nice long hike this morning, punctuated by an encounter with Lucien and Pappis near the end.  I never get over the stamina Becca has.  She and Pappis played like two football players, chasing one another round and round, banging into each other like linebackers.  When I had to go out to the post office later in the afternoon, Becca was the first one in the car.  Of course, I didn't let her drive.


Desert jungle




Rugged foothills, Tortugas and the Organ Mountains



Snaking through the Ocotillos

Sunday at Monte Vista

Trail to the south

Dr. K, Becca and I left from the Monte Vista side of Tortugas Mountain this morning and did a long hike to the south and west.  We ran into one mountain biker (Jorge) and saw a few joggers.  Beautiful weather--cool, with a slight breeze--made hiking a real treat.  Good exercise, good company and the natural world made for a good week end.


The Organ Mountains



Behind Tortugas



The happy hiker



The Franklin Mountains (near El Paso) on the horizon

Weekend Outing

No sneaking up on Becca

It was a beautiful Fall morning in the Chihuahuan Desert, and, subsequently, there were a lot of people on and about Tortugas Mountain.  We encountered six joggers and several mountain bikers.  I was surprised to see a blossom just beginning to open on a Devil's Head (aka Horse Crippler), although many desert plants bloom twice a year when conditions permit.  The small shack at the head of the road to the top of Tortugas Mountain has been blasted to smithereens by gunfire.  Do the police know this?

Late-blooming Devil's Head

Shot to shreds

First Day of Fall

Foraging for what?

It was slightly below 60 degrees Farenheit when we lit out this morning.  The high is going to be 86.  Can't complain much about the first day of Fall. We had a very pleasant hike until about 1/4 mile from the finish when we had an unpleasant confrontation with a dirt biker who was careless and downright dangerous.  I'll omit the details of the encounter because I don't want to tarnish the rest of this beautiful day.


Favorite mountain bike trail



Canine queen



Late-blooming Cholla (pronounced choy-ya).



Late-blooming Ocotillo (Ok-O-TEE-yo)

Cooler Hike

Canine checking out canid den

Ran into Jimmy after about a half mile and talked to him for fifteen minutes.  He'd gotten an early start, and we were a bit late getting started.  He'd been to the top of Tortugas and back, and we were headed for the outback.  We saw White-Toyota-Tacoma-Man's truck, but we never saw him.  After that, just a good, old-fashioned solitary hike--man and dog.

Soaptree Yuccas and Creosote

Prickly Pear and Ocotillo

Robin-egg blue?

Continental drift

Tortugas's western foothills

Midweek Jaunt

Bug on lens

Because it's provision day here at the Chihuahuan Observation Center we had to shorten our hike somewhat.  It was 60 degrees Farenheit when we started out, with a gentle breeze.  Felt pretty good--a harbinger of Fall.  Except for us two intrepid hikers there wasn't another soul in the outback.  As we like it.

Western slope of Tortugas



Eager beaver




Sun through the Ocotillo



Pretty girl at rest

Icarus

Becca on a squiggly trail

We were almost finished with our hike when a bright yellow helicopter suddenly appeared, flying low over the desert.  It flew across Dripping Springs Road, seemed to hang over the new high school being built opposite the mountain, then headed west toward the freeway.  We've seen helicopters in the desert before, but none flying that close to the ground.


The foothills of Tortugas



Yellow helicopter

Surveying the area

Monday Morn

A bit of Zen wisdom reads:  "If you want to see more deeply into the unknown, look more deeply into the known."

Becca and I didn't gain any particular insight into reality this morning, but we sure enjoyed our hike around Tortugas (Tortoise) Mountain.