A Hike With Benefits

Just as we were starting off

Becca and I got a pretty early start this morning, and because the weather conditions weren't as raw as yesterday we decided to do a lengthy hike (well, I decided, but she didn't protest).  The wind only picked up occasionally in the low desert, but it seemed pretty obvious that it was far stronger aloft.  We had a swell trek, which got even better when we started down the final leg of the outing.  There, rounding a bend, was our buddy Jimmy, who Becca just loves to encounter.  Of course Jimmy showered her with plenty of affection.  He and I stood talking for close to thirty minutes before going our separate ways.  Good thing we got in a long trek this morning rather than hiking in the early afternoon.  It's been raining here for the past fifteen minutes.

Small yucca west of Tortugas

Blue sky over this western mesa

Lone Ocotillo

Hiking alongside the arroyo

Focusing on what looks like two Torrey Yuccas

But it's a single Torrey Yucca with two trunks

The high life

Becca hears a vehicle climbing the mountain road

In the distance:  Picacho Peak

This trail leads to the mountain road

What Ocotillos do in winter

On the road again--the one that loops around the mountain

Mostly blue sky in one direction

Mostly cloudy in another direction

Doña Ana Mountains

A bit of Tortugas Mountain and the distant Organs

What's for dinner?

Trekking on the single-track back up the mountain

Pretty dynamic sky

Not much wind to speak of down low, but high aloft

You can barely see the Organs from here

Sun behind dynamic clouds

A little closer look at the sun