Abbreviate When Hot

Torrey Yucca at the edge of an arroyo

It was evident right from the start of our morning hike that the day would become quite hot; in fact, it was already 80F by the time we finished our trek at 8:30.  Good thing we got a very early start.

We left from our regular departure point at Tellbrook, hiked up the long dirt road to the "new" arroyo, dipped into the arroyo for a shade-and-water break, circled back to the long dirt road and followed it to the intersection with the east/west road.

We headed east from there toward Tortugas Mountain, but turned around before going too far.  It was already starting to feel pretty warm, and neither Frio, Willow nor I were in the mood to roast just to get in a long hike.  So we retraced our steps to the waiting CR-V.

Soaptree Yucca leaves

That Torrey Yucca/that arroyo

Dog's eye view of the arroyo

Kneeling human perspective of the same arroyo

At right:  the way we just came

A new Soaptree Yucca stalk next to an old one

Shade break!

Tangle

Further up the arroyo

Desert west of Tortugas and the Organ Mountains

Little white squiggle means White Sands Missile Range test this morning

Whitethorn Acacia are blooming

The rest:  Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), also called "Cottontop"