Arroyo Adventure, West Side

Side of a Barrel Cactus

Dr. K and I opted to do a long hike on the west side of Tortugas Mountain early this Sunday morning, and we did quite a bit of bushwhacking through beautiful areas of the Chihuahuan Desert that seem almost pristine.  Of course there's always evidence of human activity no matter where you go, as indicated in the photos that show ATV tracks even in remote arroyos.

Ours was a trek uninterrupted by human contact; though we saw people at a great distance climbing the mountain road we encountered no one.  Of course we spent the majority of time in the outback crossing the desert off the beaten track, with the exception of briefly following a few barely noticeable animal trails.  Have I ever mentioned that this is the way Dr. K and I like it?

We put quite a lot of mileage on our boots during the two hours we spent on a pleasantly cool and sunny day west of the mountain.

Bushwhacking near a study area

Of course some genius had to off-road through here

Park-like arroyo

This and the next:  Soaptrees west of the mountain

Desert sculpture

Heading east in this arroyo

Further east

At the top of this flower stalk . . .

. . . is a Cactus Wren's nest

Brown leaves on an Ocotillo

Almost to the crossroad

Soaptree Yucca and Ocotillo