Lengthy Thursday Hike

Chalk lines in the sky

Becca and I did a longer hike than originally planned this morning, simply because the weather was so nice.  Once you have your body in motion out in the wild it's hard to head back and end the enjoyment.  It's always a bonus, too, when you get a chance to see some desert critters, like the Red-Tail Hawk sitting on a telephone pole at the Lineman school.  This raptor caught our attention by making piercing screams that almost sounded like whistles.
  

Becca exploring an arroyo

Tortugas Mountain (left) and the Organ Mountains

Fruit-bearing Pencil Cholla

Red-Tail Hawk on a pole near the Lineman school grounds

Red-Tail about to land on another pole