A Good Friday

Claret Cup Hedgehog Cacti are literally blooming all over the mountain

It would have been a better Friday had I been able to bring my favorite hiking companion along, but Becca is sidelined for a week.  She wouldn't have liked it very much, anyway, because there were a shedload of people on the mountain due to the religious holday.  They weren't the only species out in abundance; I have never before seen the Claret Cup Hedgehog Cactus blooming in such high numbers, and I've been hiking in various deserts for two-thirds of my life.  The sight of so many red flowers is truly spectacular.

Very tall Torrey Yucca on the foothills trail

Desert Marigold in front of a Prick Pear Cactus pad

X marks the spot

Devil's Claw and swan-like shadow

The Tortoise from the west

Bishop Cap in the distance (left)

Torrey Yucca

The distant Organ Mountains

Flank of Tortugas (foreground) and the Organ Mountains

A little Mesquite Tree in the desert west of the mountain

Yuccas growing on the steep slopes

Doña Ana Mountains

Yucca and Claret Cup

Clumps of separate Claret Cups

Honeybees working Claret Cup flowers

Texas Crescentspot

Miserable Becca in a t-shirt