Friday in the Lincoln National Forest

Cool morning in the high country

Dr. K, Becca and I hit the Grand View Trail early this morning for a 90-minute trek.  During that time we ran into only one man hiking with his black dog.  After a friendly encounter we didn't see them again.  Although the nighttime temperature had dipped to just under 60F it felt a little warm out on the sun-exposed sections of the trail.  Dr. K and I did a "wind dance" in hopes of enticing the type of forceful gusts that had blown all through the night to return, and it worked; about two-thirds of the way through our outing we got some really cooling breezes.

Always on the lookout for her buddies

Climbed up on a boulder to get this shot of the trail

Anybody sneaking up behind us?

Dr. K is a happy hiker

It was this kind of morning

A look at the way we've just come

We're standing in the shade for a brief respite

Tularosa Basin

Stopping in the shadow of the midway ramada

High Rolls/Mountain Park region of the national forest

Ready for whatever comes up the trail

Three shots of cacti growing in rock

We took a break in this shadow, too, coming and going

Cloud shadows

A little closer look at the shadows

Beargrass (Nolina microcarpa)

Same speciment of Beargrass

Skeletal tree

Juniper/pinyon forest with the higher mountains in the distance

Sacramento Mountains

Another fine section of well-maintained trail

In the shadow of the ramada

About to pass through the cut

Beargrass blooming