Elks Club Meeting

A leisurely breakfast for member of the elks club on our road this morning

Because of a thick overcast we decided to hike the Bridal Veil Falls Trail this morning.  As we drove halfway down our road and rounded a bend we discovered four elk browsing on a neighbor's property.  They seemed pretty unperturbed by us so I whipped out my camera and photographed them through a car window.  We watched them eating for over five minutes before they moseyed along.  Then we hit the trail for an hour-and-forty-minute trek.  We decided not to go all the way to the falls because the cloud cover was lifting, and we knew we would start to broil if we extended the hike for too long.  Fortunately, we made a good decision; we were just beginning to really heat up when we got back to the car.  Both going and coming we had the entire canyon to ourselves--just the way we like it. :)

Young cow

Young Elk cows munching on a neighbor's grass

Good stuff

This is the most upset the elk got at our presence

Quite tall specimen

Time to move along

Gotta go now

Look both ways before crossing our road

The last of four elk disappearing into the forest

Heading down the Bridal Veil Falls Trail

Growing in abundance near Fresnal Creek

View of White Sands from early in the hike

Allthorn in blossom

Headed down canyon

More Allthorn flowers

The way we just came down

The sky was overcast for the first leg of the trek

Sotol at the side of the trail

A type of Rabbitbrush?

Couldn't ID this bird in flight

The cloud cover kept it cool for half of the hike

Loving the break from the sun

Hint of autumn in early August

About to descend deep into the canyon

Apache Plume

Apache Plume

Whitethorn Acacia

Cholla in bloom

That's how huge the blooming Cholla is

One of three or four squirrels scampering around the arroyo

The arroyo flora is lush

Clouds building over the mountains