Interesting Encounter

Large, two-headed Torrey Yucca

This morning I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dollar (the New Mexico State University Aggies football halftime horse) and his best friend/guardian Kwame.  I first noticed them heading up the road to the top of Tortugas; but they turned around and came back down just as I crested the trail near the road.  When I asked Kwame if it would be OK for me to take a photo of them, both he and Dollar made a point of obligingly coming down the trail so I could get better images.  Dollar is a handsome, absolutely well-mannered 20-year-old steed; and Kwame is a personable young man about to graduate from NMSU with double majors:  agricultural economics/business and horticulture.  Kwame and I stood talking for about twenty minutes while Dollar ate an occasional clump of grass.  I came away from my fortuitous encounter exceedingly impressed by horse and rider, convinced it would be hard to find a finer pair of individuals. 

Part of the city of Las Cruces

Picacho "Peak"

Blanket of clouds over the Organ Mountains

Closer look at the thick clouds

Bishop Cap in the distance

Southern section of the Organ Mountains

Flank of Tortugas (left) and the cloud-covered Organs

Yucca and Ocotillo growing together

Sun doing crazy things behind the clouds

Typical Chihuahuan Desert scene

Change of weather

You get an idea of the vast distances in the northern Chihuahuan Desert

Tortugas ("Turtle") Mountain

Can't get enough images of these dynamic clouds

Long way from here to Bishop Cap

The sun finally makes an appearance

A stretch of desert grassland

Tortugas Mountain

Huge Soaptree Yucca looking like a palm tree

Same Soaptree Yucca from a different perspective

I first saw a rider and his horse headed up the road to the mountaintop

Dollar and Kwame

Headed down the mountain road

Carefully descending a rocky section of trail

Like an idyllic scene from the Old West

Soaptree Yucca flower stalk

Becca thinks I'm despicable for not taking her on a hike this morning