A Few Pilgrims on the Mount

Not beach cabanas

Yesterday was the annual pilgrimage to the top of Tortugas Mountain in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and we saw the hundreds of pilgrims heading to the mountaintop when we were going to and coming from the Sierra Norte Trail.  Today, as Becca and I hiked west of the mountain, we saw quite a few pilgrims (who, apparently, weren't able to make the trek yesterday) climbing up to the shrine atop Tortugas.  We spent most of our time in the desert this morning searching for critters and interesting sights--like that lenticular cloud that seemed to last for the duration of our hike.

Action shot

Inaction shot

Cactus garden in the high foothills

Prickly Pear pad faces

Mountain levels

Devil's Claw

Never cross a Loggerhead Shrike

Spent seed pods of the Senna

Banana Yucca interior

Down an old road into the outback

Tortugas (left) and the Organ Mountains

Keep an eye on that cloud

Large Torrey Yucca

Same yucca from the opposite side

Yucca tragedy mask

Yet another huge Torrey Yucca west of the mountains

Dead tree #3

Typical Chihuahuan Desert scene

Up an arroyo

Looking something like a UFO

That cloud

Crossing through a small arroyo west of the mountain

My favorite hiking companion

Must be a yucca-themed blog

La prima colazione

Fourth from the right