All Along the Osha Trail

Dr. K and I have been hiking the Osha Trail since 1990 when we first moved from Tucson to El Paso.  It's one of our favorites--a great place to see the changing colors in Autumn.  It's a very popular trail with other hikers, too, and we ran into about ten of them about a quarter-mile from the end of our trek.  The trail itself was still quite muddy, and we spent about fifteen minutes cleaning our boots before we drove back to High Rolls, about seven miles down the mountain.

Fall in the High Country

Spider web outside our window

Beginning in the early afternoon here in High Rolls and continuing all day and long into the night a steady, light rain fell.  When it was over, our rain gauge read .35 inches.  They got even more in the higher country, and our trek on the Rim Trail was very muddy.  Nevertheless, we all (Dr. K, Becca and Packrat) enjoyed our hike very much.  And we didn't run into one other hiker the entire way.  There were campers at the Karr Canyon campground across the road from the trailhead.  We weren't near them long enough, though, to be bothered by the generators in their campers.

Tansy Asters

Becca leading the way on the Rim Trail, section 3

Looking down at the Tularosa Basin

Aspen and color



What?



Levels of elevation

Indian Paintbrush still blooming in the Sacramento Mountains

Tansy Aster being bugged

Aspen leaves on a muddy trail

Let's Talk Turkey

It's always a treat to be able to look out your window and see Wild Turkeys having an early dinner in your yard.  They were eating in the rain, cautiously monitoring my movements as I snapped photographs of them.  What beautiful birds.

Heavy Overcast Hike

Down in the low desert there was a dense overcast this morning.  It rained on our way to Tortugas Mountain.  Luckily we didn't get rained on during our hike.  Later, when Dr. K, Becca and I left for High Rolls in the high country it rained for a fair bit of the drive.  Now that we're here it hasn't rained, but it looks as if it could at any minute.



Wild Mustard family



Not a Lot to Say Day

Jet sky

Landscapes, dog, flowers.

Becca bushwhacking

Becca on the Crosscut Trail

Becca on the long road

Marigolds



Muchas Marigolds



Flowers, Ocotillos and mountains



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Plains Blackfoot Daisy and Prickly Pear

Another Hump Day Hike

Ocotillos in the foothills

Becca and I did a long hike west of Tortugas this morning.  We saw quite a few other outdoor enthusiasts there, but we had the good fortune of not running into any of them. The weather was perfect, slightly cool with a stiff breeze.  We actually did a whole hike without breaking a sweat.  (Of course, Becca never breaks a sweat, but she wasn't panting very much.)

Trailing Four O'Clocks

Trail to the northwest

On the road again

This is how to do the "lookout" thing

Marigold and Prickly Pear pad

Mishmash

Squall

Storm sky east of Tortugas Mountain

I love the word "squall."  We had a brief one this morning before the sky cleared.  You can see some rain drops on the large Sacred Datura flower.  We saw nobody out there today, and there were no cars in the Sunset Parking lot when we got back.  It seems as if the weather is finally turning more fall-like, and we certainly enjoy the change of season.

Sacred Datura

Honey Bee on Datura blossom

Pretty sky, rugged desert

Desert Bahia

Desert Doggie

Wide trail into Tortugas's foothills