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Monday, July 15, 2013

There'll Be a Change in the Weather

It may not look like it, but this road is damp from last night's rain
If I've been dwelling on the weather of late it's because it plays such a preeminent role in one's daily outings into the desert.  And in a hot, dry summer desert dwellers are always hoping for a weather change.  That's exactly what we got last night as a system blew in and dumped some much-needed precipitation on the parched Chihuahuan Desert.  More is predicted.  50% chance of thunderstorms today, with a high of only 83 degrees Fahrenheit.  I can tell you it made for a very pleasant trek this morning.
Picacho "Peak" (left) and the southeast section of Las Cruces

Beautiful, cloudy sky

On the scent of God knows what

The road around Tortoise Mountain

The Organ Mountains under cloud cover

Hedgehog Cactus and Tortugas

A fairly large Allthorn bush in bloom

3 comments:

Dr. K said...

I can't wait until more of the desert begins to bloom.

Scott said...

It looks like the clouds are scrunched-up against one another in some other the images, like an area rug pushed up against a wall.

We flew over New Mexico yesterday afternoon just south of Albuquerque on our way from San Diego to Dallas/Fort Worth. Arizona was mostly clear, but when we got to New Mexico I couldn't see the ground because of the cloud cover. I know you're quite a bit south of Albuquerque, but I wondered if the clouds extended all the way down to Las Cruces to give you some relief.

packrat said...

Yes, Scott, we had an incredibly cloudy and windy day yesterday. For us, though, the 50% chance of rain didn't happen; I guess we got the other 50%. You're probably home by now, happy to be back at "your" preserve.

:)

Sunny, Windy, Cold

1st 2:  slightly different views of yucca and the Organs We really cut the hike short this morning.  The strong wind and near-brutal cold ga...