Cool Early, Hot Late

Becca among the Ocotillos

Becca and I got an early start on the west side of Tortugas Mountain, but the parking lot on the Sunset side was almost full when we got there.  Don't know why this area has become so popular this spring and summer.  Just as we started off we ran into the man and woman who hike with her Beagle "Rosie," and the woman commented about how beautiful the morning was:  "Cool with a nice breeze."  It wasn't going to stay that way for long, though, and by the time we bumped into our pal Jimmy on the inbound leg it was already heating up.  He and I talked for about twenty minutes while Becca lay in the shade created by my body.

High elevation cactus garden

Woolly Paperflower (Psilostrophe tagetina)

Well-traveled road through the desert

Shade break

Desert Marigold (Baileya)

Rock with ears

Going to be hard to stop photographing these Barrel Cactus flowers

Another plum-sized Prickly Pear pear