Memorial Day Madness

Midday siesta (yesterday afternoon at our place)

The Sunset Area parking lot was almost completely full when Becca and I got out there at 7:30 this morning, and immediately we saw why:  a huge line of hikers was snaking up the mountain, at its head a large man who was leading the group.  Obviously it was some kind of all-day outing because all of the trekkers were wearing day packs.  Fortunately, through a bit of route altering on our part, we were able to avoid them, and once we got into the outback we never saw or heard them again.  We did have one encounter, though, while we were returning to the trailhead, a young man who was almost too busy talking on his cell phone to acknowledge us; he did nod our way at the last minute.  All things considered we did quite well in avoiding people this Memorial Day, and we had a swell hike.

Large group of hikers on the mountain

Shade break in the shadow of a large transformer at the lineman school

Following a dusty dirt road

Mesquites in an arroyo west of Tortugas Mountain

Where you go after leaving 4

The Tortoise (Tortugas Mountain)

Heading back in

Hill west of the mountain

Soaptree Yucca and the Organ Mountains

Strawberry Pitaya about to bloom

Twin blossoms about to open on a Devil's Head

A golf ball undoubtedly driven from the mountaintop

Big Ben Patchnose Sanek

You can see the scales on the nose that give the snake its name