November Wildflowers

Off to an early start west of the mountain

With all the depressing news of late--another terrorist attack, insane president and Russia-obsessed opposition party--I felt really eager to get out into the desert with Becca for a sane respite in the natural world.  We did a long, leisurely trek west of Tortugas Mountain and into the outback, and we were not disappointed.  We ran into not a single member of the human species while we were there, but we saw many desert denizens who obviously inhabit a much saner reality than that of Homo sapiens.  Our only regret:  that we had to return to "civilization" at the end of our sojourn.

West side of the arroyo we're hiking beside

Closer look at those yuccas

Fleet of UFO clouds

Trail through Tortugas Mountain foothills

Where clouds meet the mountain slope

Surprising how many flowers are still around

Sun through the clouds

Clouds masking the sun

Desert Marigolds

Wait!

Do I have to wait?

So many things to see on the trail ahead

Clouds shaped by high winds aloft

Road to the clouds

Getting further away from the mountains

Closeup of local color

High-desert grassland

Trailing Four O'Clock

Same as above

View through an Ocotillo

Old-timer (left) with sparse leaf cover

Yum--that was tasty.  A bit prickly, but tasty nonetheless

More local color

Fall colors on an old Ocotillo

Could be Showy Goldeneye