Interesting Sights

It was extremely hot on the trail this morning, and Dr. K, Research Associate Becca and I suffered sufficiently. There were plenty of things to see, though, and we recorded them for our faithful readers. Here is a hiker wearing Jerry Seinfeld's "puffy shirt" and her seemingly obedient dog.
Here is an interesting wand-like plant (still unidentified) growing in a large arroyo; the largest wand was longer than a yardstick.
Closeup of the beautiful flowers on the wand.
A gunshot prickly-pear pad (just kidding).

Closeup of the hole.

Morning at Monte Vista

This morning we looped around the east side of Tortugas Mountain for half a mile, then followed an old mountain bike trail down into the major arroyo area. On the way we took this long shot of the Organ Mountains, the desert floor incredibly green in the foreground.
In the arroyo there are some huge specimens of Little-Leaf Sumac. Here's a closeup of the little leaves.
This huge bird nest caught our attention.
Closeup of the nest, which was about the size of a regulation basketball.

On the road that snakes toward the Organs, the return leg of our morning hike.

Boulders, Beans, Blossom

Research Associate Becca and I noticed some interesting features of the environment as we hiked the Tortugas Mountain trail on the Monte Vista side of the mountain. We had kind of a rocky focus at first.
These colorful bean pods on an acacia caught our eye.
Whenever we see a car parked out in the desert we're leery because of all the gunshots we hear.
If you look closely at the center of this boulder at the top you'll see a rock squirrel.

I just had to take this macro shot of a gorgeous flower.

Beauty/Blight

Before we set off on our morning research, I stopped and photographed the large arroyo that runs through the property here at COC. In this photo you can see several large sacred datura plants growing in the wash as well as the boulders we placed to keep young ATV riders from using the area. Also, in the background, is the infamous Tortugas Mountain.
On our hike, Research Associate Becca pointed to this bird on a yucca.
Some late-blooming soaptree yuccas were decked out in desert finery.
Closeup of yucca flowers with the new observatory in the background.

As you can see from this photo some idiot(s) destroyed the beautiful sign that BLM/NMSU workers placed on the west side of Tortugas. I have never understood the destructive nature in human beings; how can anyone derive pleasure from such an act? Even drunkeness is no excuse for this behavior.

Pretty Flowers

Because of computer problems, we offer an abbreviated post today: a few photos of desert flowers.
The abundant rains this summer season have provided ample moisture for these beauties.

It's always a pleasure to discover the intricate beauty of nature.

Post-Labor-Day Hike

The sun was up, the humidity, too; the wind was down, and Research Associate Becca and I were sweating up a storm on the Tortugas Mountain trail this morning. We took a close-up photo of the steep powerline road that the idiot ATV driver went up and down yesterday. Here it is.
Here's a pic of the new observatory at the top of the mountain.

If you look closely at the mountaintop in the center of this photo you'll see the new observatory; at the extreme left is the old observatory. Of course, the intervening desert is the most interesting subject here.

Bad Hike

This holiday hike was one of the worst that Research Associate Becca and I have taken. Lots of holiday lunatics were out with their guns, popping off rounds in target practice. Becca and I felt as if we were in a shooting gallery. At one point it sounded as if bullets were whizzing over our heads, and we were forced to shorten our hike. In this photo you can barely make out four or five vehicles parked on the near horizon, their occupants standing outside with their favorite toys: real weapons.
Then we saw this adult helmet-less idiot on a yellow ATV, illegally climbing the incredibly steep powerline access road up the side of the mountain. Once up, he turned around and came straight down--an extremely dangerous feat.

At least this soaptree yucca in bloom added some beauty to our trek.