Storm Time

3300 feet lower than our hike yesterday

When we started our hike on the Grand View Trail this morning both Dr. K and I commented on how much hotter it felt at 6200 feet versus the 9500-foot trek we took yesterday in Cathey Canyon.  Imagine our dismay knowing we had to return to our lower desert home at 4200 feet later in the morning.  Nature granted us a respite on the return leg of our hike when the sun was obscured by heavy cloud cover.  However, by the time we got packed and ready to leave the High Rolls/Mountain Park area a heavy thunderstorm had blown in.  We were forced to load the Jeep in heavy rain.  I felt certain that by the time we'd driven to the base of the Sacramento Mountains the storm would have abated, and I was right; only light showers were evident around Alamogordo.  But a severe storm greeted us upon arrival in Las Cruces, and highway driving was treacherous.  It was still storming when we got home, and we had to let Becca out in the downpour before herding her quickly into the garage, where we were able to unpack our belongings in a protected environment.

High humidity made for hazy conditions

Juniper/pinyon pine territory

Shade break at the halfway ramada

Looking toward the Tularosa Basin

Down the Grand View Trail

Juniper-studded hills

Dr. K reads about wildlife while . . .

. . . Becca takes another shade break

Can't decide which bird that is

Scrub Jay

Clouds over the mountains . . .

. . . are building quickly

White Sands National Monument in the distance

Cloud shadows rolling through

Cumulus accumulating

Buffalo Gourd