El Otro Lado

Climbing up to the mountain

As we often do on an early Saturday morning Becca and I drove to the far side of Tortugas Mountain and started our trek out of the Monte Vista area.  Two vehicles were parked there, but we didn't see anybody until we had wrapped around the south side of the mountain and encountered three different runners getting in their exercise.  Later, as we dropped out of the higher elevation to the low desert, we bumped into a woman hiking with her dog.  Both of our dogs wanted to greet each other, but we kept them apart.  As we wrapped back around the east side of the mountain a guy running with two dogs waved hello.  I had a good laugh about the way his dogs ran ahead of him, like they were eager to get somewhere before he did.  When we returned to our CR-V there were five or six vehicles parked in the lot, and as we drove home I noticed the parking lot on the Sunset side of the mountain was almost full.  Good day to be out in the desert.

Looks like the shadow of a standing bear, but it's me

Whitecaps in the sky

Can't get over those clouds

Our favorite boulder

Yuccas on the steep slope

At the east side of the mountain now

Curving to the south on the trail

Headed west

On the south side of Tortugas Mountain

Across a long expanse of desert to the Organ Mountains

Moving away from the mountain

Becca blending in with the surroundings

Take this trail

Cactus Wren on a Torrey Yucca bayonet

Same Cactus Wren

The distant Organ Mountains

Moving in on the Organs

Closer still

Ever closer

Rugged section of the mountains

Organs

Organs again

Boulder from another perspective

The steep slope

Ballooning in the desert

A little closer look

Rugged mountains

Ballooning in the desert Southwest

Don't scale these cliffs

Flowers in our patio enclosure

Red and yellow