Hike Two Grand View

View from the edge of our road

We got a bit later start this morning for our trek on the Grand View Trail.  We're doing the mid-elevation hikes during the Memorial Day weekend because we know how crowded it will be in the Cloudcroft area.  After our excursion today we drove back to the cabin and dropped Becca off before driving down to Alamogordo to stock up on some supplies.  We were shocked to discover that the Lowe's grocery store on 10th Street had been converted into a Lowe's Signature Market replete with higher prices.  They did a fantastic job remodeling, however, adding a coffee shop and a small dining area.  Also--not that I'd notice--they expanded the alcoholic beverages section and increased the offerings tenfold.  Some prices remained from the old Lowe's (79 cents for a gallon of water, for example), but others had been jacked up noticeably, conceivably to pay for the store upgrades.

Early morning in the Sacramentos

Becca heading down our drive

Home in the highland

Mountain living

White Sands from the Grand View

Tularosa Basin

Tularosa Basin

Just off the trail

Study in B&W

Can't leave this tree alone

Along the Grand View Trail

Quite a fissure here

Light and shadow across White Sands

Fixated on White Sands

Halfway ramada shade break for Becca

Through the cut

Steep dropoff

Cactus in rock

Closer look

On the cliff ledge

Not much difference between color and . . .

. . . black-and-white

What's with all the tree photos?

More cactus in rock

Heading back to the trailhead

One last look at a grand view