Bum Forecast

Becca on the high foothills trail

Our local meteorologist got the temperature right this morning (31 degrees Fahrenheit), but not the wind.  The prediction was for light breezes, not the brisk wind Becca and I encountered on our trek west of Tortugas Mountain.  Fortunately I dressed appropriately for the conditions:  long trousers, long-sleeve shirt, lightweight vest and windbreaker.  I removed no article of apparel during the hike because it remained cold throughout.  Of course, as I've pointed out before, Becca is always good with her bicolor coat, which she wears on all occasions.

In the upper foothills west of Tortugas Mountain

Soaptree and Torrey Yuccas west of the mountain

Torrey Yucca on the edge of a deep gully

Sparsely-populated section of Chihuahuan Desert

Hedgehog Cactus and a small Barrel Cactus

Andy Gibb and the BeeGees

Contrary

A huge Hedgehog Cactus

My boot is size 11

Skeleton of a dead Prickly Pear pad

My favorite yucca

Slightly different perspective

Prickly Pear pad the size of a dinner plate

Shall I have a lie-down or not?

This Soaptree Yucca is 20' tall with stalk

Bushwhacking Becca

Finding oneself in a thorny situation

Pencil Cholla with old fruit

Power to nowhere:  lineman school

Prickly Pear, Torrey Yucca, Soaptree Yucca and Ocotillos

Mormon Tea budding beside an old Ocotillo

Mormon Tea buds

Close look at Mormon Tea buds

Closer still

Bushwhacking 101

On the west side of Tortugas Mountain just after 7:00 a.m.

Becca and I got an early start this morning, and I was surprised by how chilly and windy it was.  Of course it was nowhere as windy as yesterday, which--with gusts to 60 mph--was an absolutely miserable day here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert.  When we got into the sunlight today the chill was bearable, and the Beckster and I did some serious bushwhacking west of Tortugas Mountain.  Always on the lookout for Coyotes we saw none.  We saw plenty of rabbits and birds, though, and spring flowers are beginning to put in an appearance.

Part of Las Cruces, New Mexico and Picacho "Peak"

Down the single-track

One tall Soaptree yucca

Long way across the Mesilla Valley from here to there

Sandy respite

Down a long arroyo

Strange contrails this morning

Large Barrel Cactus and the Organ Mountains

Bushwhacking with Becca

In the hills northwest of the mountains

Huge expanse of Chihuahuan Desert

Crazy Ocotillo and wild contrails

Scalloped Phacelia

Loggerhead Shrike

Truncated contrails

Rugged west slope of Tortugas Mountain and the Organ Mountains

Ocotillo budding

High-elevation cactus garden

Yucca in bloom

Reddish-purple buds will blossom white

Closer look

Beautiful future flowers

Large mass of white flowers with purple buds

Can you spot the Curve-billed Thrasher in her nest?