A Real Treasure

Becca on our road

We decided Becca was good to go on a high-elevation hike this morning so she, Dr. K and I drove up to the parking lot at the Osha Trail just shy of Cloudcroft, New Mexico.  There was nobody there when we started, but we ran into quite a few people during our trek, all enjoying the cool mountain weather; it was 60F (15.5C) when we began.  The high temp for Cloudcroft today is 72F.  Compare that to the high 90s in the low desert.  As we were commenting on the beautiful surroundings Dr. K said of the Osha Trail, "It's a real treasure."  And that it is!

Big bend in our road

Life in the mountains

Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis)

Prickly Rose

Prickly Rose

Becca and Dr. K

Tent Caterpillars

Broad-tailed Hummingbird?

Same hummer

View across the Mexican Canyon trestle to White Sands

Broad-tailed?

Trees

More Prickly Roses

Scouting the trail ahead

Becca checking the surroundings

Squawroot (Conopholis americana) is a parasite

Squawroot is also called "bear corn"

High elevation forest

Tent Caterpillars were all over the mountain

Getting to the hot part of the trail

Interesting tree

Tent Caterpillars

Artsy fartsy

Prickly Rose

Village of Cloudcroft from the Osha Trail

Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis)

White Sands from the Osha Trail

Our elevation right . . .

. . . here

Heading round the mountain

Bowed trees in B&W

Same bowed trees

My guess is they grow like this because of heavy snowfall

Further along the Osha

Love the light coming through here

This one?

Or this one?

Getting close to the meadow

Another elevation check

New Mexico Locust (Robinia neomexicana) is a small tree

Tent Caterpillars everywhere

A reach for the sky in the high country