Sunday Scramble

Starting from the Monte Vista side of Tortugas Mountain

After a long hike starting from the eastern side of Tortugas Mountain--during which we did a little bushwhacking--we ran into our pal Jimmy who suggested that, if we had time, we might want to take a ride out Dripping Springs Road and Baylor Canyon Road to see the progress the county has made on improvements to those two roadways.  We had time so we took an extended drive to check out the roadwork, which was quite impressive.  On our return we swung through Dripping Springs Natural Area, which is now part of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument to get some closeups of the rugged mountains and La Cueva Rocks.

Huge boulders on the east side of the mountain

Down a steep trail into a Creosote Bush forest

Ocotillo blossoms

Closeup of the first flower

Ocotillo buds

Odd torpedo cloud over Tortugas Mountain

Meager shade for a break

Headed back toward Tortugas

A little bushwhacking in search of plants

Senna flower

That cloud is becoming ever more ominous

Not bullet holes (I hope)

White Tackstem and seedhead

Long way around the mountain

Organ Mountains from Baylor Canyon Road

Another shot of the Organs from Baylor Canyon Road

Windmill and solar panels on Baylor Canyon Road

The road into Dripping Springs

West side of La Cueva Rocks and the Organ Mountains

La Cueva Rocks and the Organs

Hint of Monsoon Season

Distant haze caused by high humidity

It was very cool and quite humid this morning due to the on-and-off rain showers we got yesterday.  I eventually had to take off my warmup jacket about two-thirds of the way through the hike, but before that I experienced that strange bodily sensation when you're chilly and warm at the same time.  Becca and I enjoyed a long trek that didn't involve any off-trail activity.  We bumped into a few outdoor enthusiasts enjoying nature, including our friend Jimmy who was off to the Ocotillo forest.

A runner on the long haul

Pale Evening Primrose

A shady respite

Senna

Desert Marigold and Range Ratany

Clouds billowing over the mountains

A valley green with Mesquite Trees

Small Mesquite Tree in an arroyo west of Tortugas Mountain

Claret Cup and Ratany

Can't wait to see what's over the ridge

Woman mountain biker conquering Tortugas

Surprisingly-Long Hike

I can't find this plant even though I've IDd it on this blog in the past

It rained on and off during the night, and it was still coming down fairly hard this morning when I let Becca into the backyard to do her business.  After consulting the radar map on Weather.com I decided on an upcoming doughnut hole as our best chance to get in a short hike.  As it turned out Becca and I were able to get in a normally-long trek, although we did get sprinkled upon for about two-thirds of the way, and the last eighth of a mile we were rained on a bit harder.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Ocotillo flowers against a rainy-grey sky

More Ocotillo flowers

Down to the low desert

Clouds rolling over the Organ Mountains

Ménage à trois fail

Rainy day in the desert

Getting darker

Raining over the mountains

Baboon face in a Soaptree Yucca

Wet road on Mars

A soaked Chihuahuan Desert

Brittlebush?

Buggy Whips in bloom

Getting muddy paws

Hiking under light rain

Cloudy with a Chance of Rain

Daisies and Range Ratany

The Beckster and I did a moderately-long hike into the outback west of Tortugas Mountain this morning, surprised by the heavily overcast sky and cool conditions in the desert.  I wore my long bushwhacking trousers and a light jacket over a short-sleeve shirt.  Never removed the jacket during the entire trek.  There weren't too many other outdoor enthusiasts taking advantage of the chillier weather, but we did run into our pal Jimmy, with whom we visited for a few minutes.

Love the color of these buds

Thick overcast

Along the squiggly trail

You have to have a really "hard" hard palate to munch on these pads

Desert greening out

Arroyo west of Tortugas

Heading toward another arroyo

Mesquite Trees

How green is my valley?

In the hills west of the mountains

Flowering Creosote Bush

Bonnie Becca

Not a raindrop, but, perhaps, a kind of sap

Steep western escarpment of the Organ Mountains