A Long One

The light green swath is a forest of Ocotillos

Dr. K, Willow, Frio and I got a late start on our morning hike, but we went much further than we have on recent outings.  We parked at the western barrier of Geothermal Road, trekked all the way up to a north/south crossroad, headed south until the dirt road intersected the major arroyo, and then explored the arroyo while heading eastward.

We saw several other people out there, including two guys with dogs; we passed by the first man with his well behaved (and leashed) hound, and though Frio barked, Willow was surprisingly calm.  We never encountered the second guy with his two loose dogs.

Hiked the long way back to the waiting CR-V without bumping into anyone else.  Because the weather was quite cool the outing was a really pleasant one.

Way up the major arroyo

This and the next:  Hairy False Goldenaster

Crescent moon or Climbing Milkweed spent seed pod?

This and the next 2:  dead tree

In the arroyo heading east

This and the next:  different photo techniques

This and the next 4:  Ocotillos in various stages of leaf decay

Road to Tortugas Mountain

Road away from Tortugas Mountain

Looking east to the mountains

This and the next 2:  House Finch

Last 2:  Hairy False Goldenaster