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| Starting out in the lowlands on the east side of Tortugas Mountain |
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| Heading south before bending west |
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| Yucca on the steep slope of the mountain |
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| Eye on the sky |
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| Heading west |
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| Looking back at the Organ Mountains |
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| Really steep climb |
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| Looking down from the midway point |
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| Rocky trail ahead |
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| View to the east from the first plateau |
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| Bishop Cap (left) and the Franklin Mountains on the horizon |
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| High up on Tortugas |
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| The old two-dome observatory is being dismantled |
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| Graffiti art on the far side |
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| A small Mesquite Tree almost at the top |
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| Torrey Yucca at the mountaintop |
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| Talked to my friend Gregg before he headed down the mountain road |
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| Yuccas in front of the single-dome observatory |
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| In need of a paint job |
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| Tortugas Pueblo's shrine at the top of the mountain |
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| Dripping Springs Road heads east to the Organs |
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| Torrey Yucca and the Organ Mountains |
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| An agave (left) sends up its flower stalk next to a Sotol |
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| The Organ Mountains are part of the Rockies |
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| Yuccas on the high slopes |
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| My car (beneath the red dot) |
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| Telephoto shot of my car |
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| The steep northern slope of Tortugas |
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| Ocotillo flower |
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| Cactus Wren on an Ocotillo |
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| Coming around the mountain |
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| Striking east on a single-track |
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| Getting close to the end |
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| Haven't IDd this plant (obviously a legume) |
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| A bouquet for my efforts |
3 comments:
It was fun to follow the trail with you in this series of photos.
The "trail" to the top of the mountain that you chose looked too rocky to tackle. Kali would walk that route once, and then I'd never get her up there (that way) again! The section of the Appalachian Trail through Pennsylvania is reputed to be the rockiest section of the entire AT; every time I suggest a day hike on the AT, Kali says, "Oh, you mean on the 'ankle turner'" and then declines to go.
I've only hiked that route a handful of times, Scott, and Dr. K has never gone to the top with me on that trail. Becca has, though, but I'm always a bit leery about taking her up that route. There are a few places where you think to yourself, "Should I really have come this way?"
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