Canine Encounters of the 4th Kind

Morning moon

Dr. K, Becca and I got a fairly early start this morning as we headed for the Grand View Trail's lower parking area.  We were surprised to find four vehicles already there.  We were hoping that most hikers had crossed Fresnal Canyon Road and headed down the Bridal Veil Falls Trail, but as soon as we started off we encountered a man and his young son (presumably) accompanied by two dogs.  The man picked up the small dog and the large dog was on a lead.  Becca lay in the down position at the side of the trail, and the man said, "That is one well-behaved dog."  It's a compliment Becca always likes to hear. :)

About a mile further up the trail, just as we were considering doing a little bushwhacking, a dog suddenly appeared, and both it and Becca were extremely interested in each other.  They interacted as we started ahead again, and just like that a smaller dog materialized, and all three interacted.  As they were doing so a woman and man came through the cut.  The woman said, "We decided to start early because we figured there'd be a lot of people."  Then she wished us a nice hike as she, the man and the two dogs headed in the opposite direction.  Which "lot of people" she was referring to we couldn't say; she and her male companion and the father and son were the only people we saw until we got back to the car and noticed a family of four striking off on the Bridal Veil Falls Trail.

We did have a more interesting encounter, however, with three unsupervised dogs we had seen heading down Fresnal Canyon Road when we were driving to the parking lot.  They came up behind us on the outbound leg of the trail and Becca was anxious to have a meet-and-greet.  Two of the dogs we've bumped into two or three times before--a Chow-mix and his Pitbull-mix buddy.  Their other amigo we hadn't seen before.  All four interacted (as you can see in the images below) without incident.  All told, it was a bonus day for Becca:  7 dogs seen, 5 met.

First rays into the High Rolls/Mountain Park area

Lovely light on the pines

Moon and trees

Mule Deer family in a neighbor's yard

Vista from the Grand View Trail

Grand View Trail

Looking into the Tularosa Basin

Yucca and old Juniper

Wild B&W

Becca has picked up on something

She's certain we're being followed

Becca fearlessly approached a gang of unsupervised hooligans

She's up for the challenge

Being surrounded

Uh . . .

What have I gotten myself into?

Have I bit off more than I can chew?

Dead tree branches

Elk

Critters in this area

Another vista from the Grand View

Interesting geological formations

Speed it up pokesters

The gypsum of White Sands was absolutely brilliant this morning

View of the midway ramada

Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)

Same Bewick's Wren (Dry Brush filter)

Heading back on the Grand View Trail

Grand View Trail