Away From the Well-Trodden Path

White-winged Dove taking flight

Dr. K felt like doing some bushwhacking this morning, so Becca and I were quick to oblige her.  No telling the discoveries waiting to be revealed when you get off the beaten track.  We found a fertile section of desert west of the Tortoise (Tortugas Mountain) where several small arroyos fed an abundance of flora.  Many Yuccas were in bloom, and Claret Cup Hedgehog Cacti carpeted the desert floor with brilliant red-orange flowers.  It was so quiet and peaceful out there we hated to return to the city.

On the way round the mountain

Old rock shelter

Claret Cup Cactus flower and bud

Dos cabezas son mejor que uno

Twin Yucca flower stalks

Becca spots two hikers and a dog across a great expanse of desert

Down a small, sandy arroyo

Looking back at Tortugas Mountain from the west

Dr. K enjoying a morning of bushwhacking

Down a sandy arroyo bottom

Claret Cup Cactus nearly in full bloom

A good-sized Barrel Cactus

In a fertile Chihuahuan Desert valley

A fairly large Torrey Yucca in bloom

A gigantic Yucca--nearly 18' we calculated

Deer been here, done that

Claret Cup blossoms

Yuccas and the Organ Mountains