If It Looks Like a Deer

On the trail to the high foothills once again

After a long hike west of Tortugas Mountain, when Becca and I were climbing a steep trail back into the foothills, I saw something that caught my eye right away:  a pair of familiar-looking ears close to the ground.  It was, as I suspected, a Mule Deer lying in the shade inside a narrow gully.  It allowed us to approach fairly closely--unusual for a deer--and I worried briefly that it might be hurt.  Just then it jumped up and bounded out of there.  An added bonus was the second deer that took off along with the first.  Both were youngsters, but they were smart enough to make a beeline out of the gully, heading west into the desert.

High on the western flank of Tortugas Mountain

Soaptree Yucca flowers

No luck IDing this insect, which seems to be a type of Bumblebee

Becca on break

A bouquet of Desert Marigolds

Desert Marigolds

Mormon Tea and flowers

Sotol flower stalk

On the verge of blossoming

Ocotillo starting to leaf out

Bumblebee on an Ocotillo flower

Odd-shaped cactus

Not a cactus after all

Peeking over a Prickly Pear

Young Mule Deer on the west side of the mountain

Time to get moving