 |
| Starting down the Bridal Veil Falls Trail |
Dr. K and I got up early in order to do a moderately long hike on the Bridal Veil Falls Trail. This is the Friday when revelers stream up the mountain to enjoy a long Labor Day holiday. Oddly enough, though, we ran into no other hikers on the trail, neither on our outbound leg nor the inbound.
This was another of Becca's favorites, so, of course, we were spreading her ashes in a few select places along the way. It's going to take a long time for us to get over the loss of our fine companion, and we shed a tear or two over her absence.
Back at the cabin we packed and got ready for the 90-minute drive to our lower desert home. A string of vehicles came up the mountain while we descended, but not nearly as many as we've seen in the past. There was, however, a long line of traffic at the border patrol checkpoint across from White Sands National Monument. The facility resumed operations a few weeks ago, and I have no doubt that holiday travelers--especially those in that traffic backup--were ruing the recent reopening.
 |
| A touch of autumn on the Three-leaf Sumac |
 |
| Looking into the Tularosa Basin |
 |
| A closer look into the Tularosa Basin |
 |
| Further along the trail |
 |
| The long view |
 |
| Not-quite-so-long view |
 |
| Narrow section of trail before reaching the grotto |
 |
| This and the next: Chamisa |
 |
| I think it's Abert's Buckwheat (Eriogonum abertianum) |
 |
| Sky |
 |
| Narrow trail and sky |
 |
| Looking down at the chasm |
 |
| Continuing down |
 |
| One of Becca's favorite resting places |
 |
| We put some of her ashes here today |
 |
| White Sands through the notch |
 |
| Narrow trail above a deep gorge (right) |
 |
| White Sands again |
1 comment:
Pretty photos of the blooming chamisa. We've seen a lot of that recently in the High Country.
Post a Comment