Glorious Weather

This and the next:  first plateau, Sierra Vista Trail (Norte)

The campground at the lower Sierra Vista Trail was quite crowded when we got out there this morning:  five RVs, a van and several car campers.  We ran into nobody on our outbound leg, however, but we did have a distant encounter with a lone Trickster.  Becca saw him before we did, and both Dr. K and I had to scour the desert in the middle distance to see him.  He was watching us, though, standing for a bit, sitting and then lying down.  He seemed to be waiting, and our assessment was confirmed later when we heard the rest of his pack howling and yelping.  January to March is mating season for Coyotes, so we suspect he may have been hanging around in hopes of scoring. As we headed back to the main trail a lone hiker was trekking toward the mountains the way we had gone before, and then later we ran into a mountain biker, but he was the only other human we saw out on the trails today.  The morning weather was perfect for a hike, but it's supposed to get windy this afternoon.  Nice to get in a long trek before conditions worsen.

#2

Closer look at clouds over the Organs

More distant look

Hills and mountains

Barrel Cacti and Tortugas Mountain

This and the next 8:  clouds over the Organ Mountains

Becca saw him long before we did

He seemed to be waiting around

Keeping an eye on us

Having a lie down

Even more shots of clouds over the Organs

That cloud seemed to conglomerate with others

Becca at work

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Those mountains need their heads examined (as I do)

Ms. Happy Hiker

Interesting formations

This and the next:  long-demised Barrel Cactus

Light and shadow on the Organs

Looking back before heading out

Zooming in

Almost out