Maria (Mariah) Redux

Inadvertently captured the image of two distant hikers in this shot

It's a good thing I listened last night to "Doppler Dave" delivering the weather forecast for this morning; he said there would be 30 mph gusts on the west side of area mountains.  Our weather app predicted 5 mph winds.  It felt pretty bad out there when Becca and I hit the trail west of Tortugas Mountain.  Fortunately I had dressed appropriately, and I never lowered the hood of my anorak nor took off my gloves even when taking photos.  The wind nagged at us all during our trek such that we were both relieved to get back to the car after our hike.  Surprisingly there were quite a few other outdoor enthusiasts around the mountain.

West side of Tortugas Mountain

Stopping to scope things out

Straight shot across the upper foothills

Which grew first, the Ocotillo or the Yucca?

Torrey Yucca at the side of the road

More distant shot

Closeup of a yucca head

Becca moseying west

Surprised to see this balloon up in such high winds

It wasn't up for long

It reads "Civil Air Patrol"

Venn diagram fail

How many heads on this massive yucca?

A more distant view of that yucca