Lincoln National Forest

Auditioning for an action movie

Another early hike on the Grand View Trail for Dr. K, Becca and me this morning.  The temperature was much more in keeping with the season during our trek, climbing into the low-40s by the time we were done.  We ran into no humans during our outing, but we did encounter the handsome male dog pictured here.  We've run into him and a buddy of his several times, and this guy--who looks to be part Chow--is very friendly, and he seems to really like Becca.  She seems quite attracted to him as well.

Is this my better profile?

Becca leading the pack

Oops--better check on the peeps

In color

Black-and-white

Cliff/tree/sky

Cliff/trees/sky

Above the White Sands

Through the forest to the mountains

Dr. K and Becca (in the distance)

Light and shadow in the Tularosa Basin

Trinity Site

White Sands from the Sacramentos

Passing the ramada

Doing some research

High Rolls/Mountain Park area

Looking toward the Tularosa Basin and White Sands

Tree

Sun breaking through

Along the Grand View Trail

Tularosa Basin

Bushwacking

Looking into the Tularosa Basin

Yuccas and ancient junipers

Secret meeting in the forest

He really likes Becca

No caption required

A couple of cuties

What a handsome guy

Wish he was ours

Becca would like to adopt him, too

It's a Grand View

New Mexico sunrise

Dr. K, Becca and I drove fifteen minutes to the Grand View Trail in the Lincoln National Forest for a short hike (1 hour, 20 minutes).  We ran into nobody, though there were a couple of hikers behind us as we were heading out.  The weather was pleasant even though it was partly cloudy.  After our trek we headed up to Cloudcroft to dump garbage and pick up drinking water; we had been drinking our well water filtered through a Brita pitcher, but we can't get used to the slippery feel of the H2O, caused, I believe, by the high clay content of the earth around here.  In front of the Family Dollar store Cub Scouts were soliciting for food donations to help feed the less fortunate in the village, so Dr. K and I bought some extra food for the cause.  All in all a very good morning in the Sacramento Mountains.

New Mexico sunrise, High Rolls, Sacramento Mountains

Getting an early start

Juniper forest

Good spot for a midway rest

White Sands National Monument

White Sands

White Sands was brilliant this morning before the wind picked up

Becca trekking the Grand View Trail

Tree skeleton

Sacramento Mountains

Long shady stretch

Making progress

Becca's having a blast

The size of elk tracks, but the front is too rounded

Becca at work

Detour

Early morning sunshine west of Tortugas Mountain

Becca and I did a quick hike this morning before returning home to get ready for a weekend in the Sacramento Mountains.  Just as we started up Highway 82 at Stone Corner a police vehicle was blocking the road, and the officer made us detour to the left.  We had to take Laborcita Canyon Road before hitting Fresnal Canyon Road for a trip up to High Rolls via back country roads.  The detour delayed our arrival by fifteen or twenty minutes so it wasn't much of a inconvenience.  We found out later through Twitter that the High Rolls pottery shop--just down from the general store--was on fire.

Hiking a ridge west of the mountain

Descent into the lower desert

Banana Yucca

Western Kingbird

Becca and Dr. K in our driveway, High Rolls

A look up Haynes Canyon

Thursday Trek

About to dip into a gully

Becca and I got a fairly early start on our morning trek, hiking the trail that hugs the western flank of the mountain before dropping down into the lower desert.  We did an extra-long loop into the outback in our constant search for critters, but it was only until we had almost finished our exploration that Becca spotted two Coyotes about an eighth mile from the Sunset Area parking lot.  As is usually the case with Canis latrans the two critters willed themselves to disappear before I could get a decent shot of the pair.

I'm not on a stepladder, the gully is that deep

Bare branches

Prickly relationship:  Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus and Parry's Agave

Mountain biking in the remote desert

Ocotillos and the Organs

Closer look at the Ocotillos

Baby-poop geode

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Hard climb

Different Loggerhead Shrike

Trail through the Ocotillos

One Hump or Two?

Hard to fathom in two dimensions how steep this is

Becca and I got an early start west of Tortugas Mountain again this morning, and although there were quite a few other outdoor enthusiasts around the mountain we only encountered one hiker, a woman we see fairly often.  We did notice a group of strangely outfitted young people standing in the desert at the far side of a major east/west arroyo, but we couldn't discern what they were doing--perhaps participating in some sort of drill (ROTC?).  On the way home we noticed JC and Olivia's Honda Pilot parked at the side of the road near the levee, but we didn't see them.

How do you turn your head like that?

Through the high grassland

Torrey Yuccas on the west side of Tortugas Mountain

People in strange outfits

Were they conducting some sort of drill?

Soaptree Yucca, Tortugas Mountain and the Organ Mountains

Mormon Tea

Leafless Ocotillos west of Tortugas

Heading east back to the mountain

More Ocotillos

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)