Monsoon's Official Start?

Fixation

Meteorologists around here always joke that July 4th marks the "official" start of the monsoon season in the Desert Southwest.  Oddly enough it seems to hold true.  Yesterday in the late afternoon/early evening we got some substantial rain, and this morning it's just about as humid as you'd want it to be.  Fortunately for Becca and me there was a constant, stiff breeze throughout our hike which kept us cool.  The "monsoon" (change of season) generally lasts through August and into September.

Wide arroyo west of Tortugas

Yucca de dos cabezas

Not quite completely in the shade

Red spider mite

Ocotillo prison

Fed-up-with-being-photographed look?

Hummingbird doing . . .

its best impression of an Ocotillo needle

If we were back East I'd say glaciation caused these gouges in the rock