More Precipitation

Getting started after the rain

We got about half an inch of rain last night, so the desert was still wet when Becca and I set off around Tortugas Mountain.  I love it when clouds, light and wind make for dynamic conditions in this arid clime; great for taking photographs.  Because of the constant breeze the clouds over the mountains kept changing, revealing more of the Organ Mountains at times, obscuring much of the rocky faces at others.  Because of all the precipitation the floor of the desert is covered in lemon-scented Chinchweed.  Wonderful.

A late-blooming Devil's Head

Up in the high foothills

Clouds all over the Organ Mountains

A statuesque Torrey Yucca

Ocotillos and the cloudy Organ Mountains

A fortuitous composition

Blue sky over the northeast

More clouds rolling over the mountains

Just wait a second and the clouds will shift

Far west of Tortugas Mountain on the outer loop road

Lemony-smelling Chinchweed flowers carpet the desert floor

Heading up a large arroyo west of Tortugas

The rain ran hard through here

A verdant Chihuahuan Desert

A Roadrunner in an Ocotillo