A Shorter Trek

Who's out and about this morning?

Because we did a longer hike yesterday I decided to shorten up today's trek to go a bit easier on Becca, who easily would have been game for a longer exploration.  It was quite warm out there this morning, and I had to remove my vest midway through our outing.  We hit 73F yesterday, and it looks as if we might reach a similar high temperature today.  Just as we were getting back to Whitey the CR-V we saw that our pal Jimmy had pulled in behind us with his Tacoma truck.  Becca, as always, was ecstatic to see him.  He and I stood talking for a long spell while Becca lay at the side of the graveled entrance road patiently waiting for our departure.

While she waited a guy in a large black pickup parked behind Jimmy's truck, and we all--especially Becca--heard the distinctive sound of a dog's collar tags.  A second later a tiny Chihuahua wearing a green jacket ambled around the front of the Tacoma, and when I saw it was a Chihuahua I expected some aggressive yapping; but this was the calmest little dog I'd ever seen.  He and Becca sniffed each other's nose before the tiny pup moved past us.  When the guy showed up to nab the little nipper before he got too far away we talked with him briefly.  He was a big strapping dude with a handlebar mustache, and he told us he and his little buddy were from Wyoming.  I said that I couldn't believe how calm his Chihuahua was, and the man said the dog had always been that way.  The man said he'd socialized the dog properly, taking the pup everywhere with him, even on his motorcycle.  He had a sling he carried the dog in, and the guy said the pup stared up at him adoringly while they motored along, adding, "I wish a woman would look at me that way."  We all got a big kick out of that line, especially the guy who delivered it.  He was a boisterous type, but very friendly, and we were all glad about the chance meeting.

Ready to keep going

I suspect pecan farmers are burning debris in the valley

Thorny prospect

Hedgehog

High-altitude cactus garden

B&W with green warming filter

Ginormous Prickly Pear pads

Layers

Cactus Wren on buggy whip (aka "Ocotillo")

Don't hike through there

Steep slopes of Tortugas Mountain

Sunlight through a Prickly Pear Cactus

Road to the mountaintop

Another black-and-white experiment