Turning up the Heat

Hiking along the mountain's western flank

Becca and I did a very long hike west of Tortugas Mountain this morning, and it was evident early that somebody has turned up the temperature in the Chihuahuan Desert oven.  We'll be near 90 F today, after several days of much cooler than average weather.  On our way back we saw our friend, Jimmy, and climbed up to the road to talk with him.  He was headed to the top of Tortugas.  We had a nice chat before heading our separate ways.  About a mile from the trailhead we crossed paths with a middle-aged woman, her elderly mother, and their Black Lab.  The Lab was very mellow, and he and Becca got along just fine.  As we were driving out later we saw (and greeted) our buddy, Gregg, who was also headed to the mountaintop.  He and Jimmy will undoubtedly bump into each other and hike down the Tortoise together.

City limits

Talk about great camouflage

There's the little Desert Cottontail

Most photographed dog in North America?

Shade break on a long dirt road

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Jetting away

Another hiker bushwhacking through the desert

Green tangle of Ocotillos

Respite on the way back to the mountain

Up on the road to the mountaintop

The university finally cleaned up the graffiti on the seismic lab building

Will New Mexico State University use the facility again?  Probably not