Friday Walkabout

Desert layers

Becca and I took a pleasant hike in the desert west of Tortugas Mountain early this morning, and the weather was perfect for a walkabout.  We had a few encounters with desert denizens--birds, cottontails, jackrabbits--but all too fleeting to capture any images.  I was going to say "all too fleet-of-foot," but I realized it wouldn't really apply to the birds we saw.  We did bump into another guy hiking with a dog; his three-year-old hound was eager to play with Becca, but we kept them separated.  The man said he had another dog at home that looked a lot like Becca.  In fact, he had four dogs in total--all rescued while wandering in the desert.  I almost always immediately like human beings who love animals.

Huge Torrey Yucca

Leaves yellowing on an Ocotillo wand

Ocotillo, Torrey Yucca, jet

Yellowing leaves

Desert flora shadows

In the tall grass

The trail ahead

Heading toward Tortugas

On the road around the mountain

Tortugas through an Ocotillo

Happy to be hiking

A tall Ocotillo

Some Ocotillo leaves are still quite green

Leader of the pack

Closing in on the mountain

Yellow flowers and shadows

Autumnal Ocotillo wand

Closeup of the leaves

Flowers and thorns