Search This Blog

Followers

Monday, February 4, 2013

Geothermal Once Again

People have been driving around the barrier on Geothermal Drive
Becca and I drove the few miles to the barrier at Geothermal Drive and hiked along the road for about a mile before bushwhacking into the desert to the south.  Because of the large arroyo that runs out of the mountain there the flora looks good due to the abundance of water.  We saw some Torrey Yuccas that were absolutely huge--veritable skyscrapers.  One was easily 15' tall.  There were only a few other people in the area, an elderly man hiking along the road and a jogger--both heading west toward the barrier.
Getting started up the road

Tortugas (aka "A" for "Aggies") Mountain

Geothermal well alongside the road

Becca sees somebody jogging down the road

Homes at desert's edge

Bushwhacking off Georthermal

Huge Torrey Yuccas in this area

Huge Barrel Cactus and its baby clone

Peace

Tall tripartite Yucca

Arroyo to the west of Tortugas

3 comments:

Dr. K said...

It's interesting to get this different perspective.

Scott said...

Re: driving around the barrier on Geothermal Road. This afternoon, as I was sitting in my corner office, some movement outside my window caught my eye: two mountain bikers zooming hell-bent down a trail. We only allow biking on certain, very limited trails, and the one these guys were on is not one of the approved trails. These guys really piss me off, especially when they're out in conditions like we've got now, with a very light dusting of snow, and a few inches of melted mud sitting on top of solidly frozen ground--conditions couldn't get much worse for tearing up the trails. Grrr...

packrat said...

Scott:

J.C. and I were discussing this issue just the other day, how amazing it is that some people are certain the rules don't apply to them; I suspect others are just too lazy and careless to take time to read the rules.

Opting for Our Forest

Sundial called Willow We were thinking of doing one of our favorite high country hikes--the Rim Trail (T105) near Sunspot--but opted to do t...