Snow and Fog

Low visibility west of Tortugas Mountain this morning

For a moment this morning it looked as if the sun was going to break through the thick fog, but by the time Becca and I set out for Tortugas Mountain the fog had thickened.  It was pretty dense for our entire hike.  We ran into our pal Jimmy on the way in and stood talking with him for about fifteen minutes before heading our separate ways.  I wanted to see if I could get a few photos of the snow-covered Organ Mountains, so Becca and I headed out east for a few miles and were pleasantly surprised to find the sun shining brightly between the Organs and Tortugas Mountain.

Ocotillo skeletons against a foggy background

Yucca with snow

Beckster leading the way

There's a sun in that yucca crotch

Prickly Pear Cactus under snow

This way?

Barrel Cactus partially buried in the white stuff

The boundary of the national monument

Organ Mountains under a blanket of snow

A fairly rare phenomenon:  heavy snow in the Chihuahuan Desert

Tortugas Mountain with a skirt of dense fog

Becca waits in the Jeep while I take photos

Craggy, snow-covered peaks