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| Just past full and photobombed by a distant bird |
Becca and I really extended our hike (uno giro o una camminata) this morning west of Tortugas Mountain. We headed far out on the road that goes back toward the city, looped around to the south, and then struck up an arroyo that runs out of the western flank of the mountain. When we reached the portion of the wash that's intersected by the Crosscut Trail we turned south again until we hit the outer loop road, which we followed back to Tortugas. After heading south for about a half mile we climbed east on the trail that leads into the upper foothills. Our most interesting encounter was early on with a Roadrunner in the high foothills. I'm fairly certain it's the one we often bump into in this section of the desert. He (I'll say) isn't spooked by us at all. He was on the far side of a Prickly Pear Cactus when Becca passed within three feet of him. It wasn't until he moved slightly that I noticed him. He's quite a ham, too, posing while I took several photos of him.
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| Looking back at the way we've just come |
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| We'll soon be bushwhacking past that lone yucca |
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| How rugged are the foothills? |
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| Just west of Tortugas Mountain |
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| Alternate view |
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| Fixer-upper |
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| Torrey Yuccas on the mountain's west side |
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| Keeping an eye open |
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| Living on the edge (of the desert) |
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| I think this is the Roadrunner we often encounter in the western foothills |
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| He's not at all afraid of us |
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| Becca passed within three feet of him before I took notice |
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| Heading further west |
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| Northern Chihuahuan Desert |
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| Torrey Yuccas on a hill |
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| Yuccas and the distant Potrillo Mountains |
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| About to strike east up an arroyo toward the mountain |
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| Tall Soaptree Yucca |
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| More Soaptree Yuccas |
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| Same yuccas, slightly different perspective |
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| Banana Yucca |
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| Banana Yucca and bird (probably a Black-throated Sparrow) |
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| Becca in the arroyo |
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| West down the arroyo |
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| Yuccas in the arroyo |
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| Becca loves exploring arroyos |
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| Scoping out the territory |
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| A huge Ocotillo at the side of the arroyo |
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| Distant hiker with a younger version of Becca (we've run into them before) |
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| On the road around the mountain |
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| Sand Bells already in bloom on February 1st |
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| Sand Bells (Nama hispidum) |
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