A Tad Shorter

Just off the entrance road to the Sunset Area of Tortugas Mountain

Becca and I hit the trail west of Tortugas Mountain at exactly 8:00 a.m. for a shorter hike today.  She seemed a little stiff after our lengthy trek yesterday, so I thought it wise to abbreviate our outing.  I figured my body might well appreciate the break, too.  It did.  We only ran into one person on the foothills trail, a runner named Pete who we see quite often.  He and I chatted briefly while Becca sniffed his running shoes.  We did a smidgen of bushwhacking so I could photograph that toppling yucca you see in the image below.  A little bit more wet weather and some gusty winds will ensure that this desert sentinel eventually bends to the ground, giving its crowns a chance to take root.  The weather was pretty good this morning, and I was appropriately dressed so that I felt neither cold nor hot.  Becca was dressed correctly as well.  

The high life again

Somebody up on the mountain?

Yuccas in B&W

Headed down the "new" trail

We're doing a little bushwhacking here

When an old yucca topples and its crowns touch ground . . .

 . . . the heads frequently take root and continue to grow

Steep hill

Closer look at the flora on the hill

Further down the "new" trail

City of Las Cruces and Picacho Peak

Long, straight shot

Devil's Head is sometimes called the Blue Barrel Cactus

Pack rats have made a home in an old tire somebody rolled off the mountain

Ocotillos and sky with clouds

Slightly different perspective

Farm & Ranch museum in foreground

A slice of Las Cruces, New Mexico

A back road into the city

Happy Soaptree Yuccas on the banks of an arroyo