Saturday Hike

Tortugas foothills trail

There were quite a few hikers, bikers and joggers out around Tortugas this morning.  Fortunately, we didn't come into direct contact with any.  A slight breeze moderated the early heat, and we got in a long trek.


No blooms on these Soaptree Yuccas



Not a statue



Tortugas mountain



Soaptree Yucca blossoms

Obviously, ants love these flowers

To the Apache Tribe these blossoms were delicacies

Friday Kind of Hike

The trail from there

It was supposed to be windy this morning, and we thought the wind might ameliorate the heat somewhat; but it wasn't even breezy out there.  And it was hot.  Nevertheless, we did a long hike around Tortugas, and we could only shake our heads at the lack of rain.  Correction:  I shook my head; Becca tried to catch flies.

Spiral galaxy

Through the prison bars



To catch a fly



The long view

The parched desert

Scavenger

Hot Thursday Hike

Beach bunny

We did a long hike around Tortugas Mountain this morning, and we ran into a few other hikers.  One of them was Jimmy, a native Las Crucen.  We got to talking about how dry everything is, and he said he could only remember one other time when it was this dry in the Mesilla Valley--during a bad drought in the 1950s. Of the current drought, he said, "It could rain steadily for a week and it wouldn't be enough."  So true.  It's scary dry here now.

What's that pose?

Incredibly dry landscape

Smoke from the Arizona fires still visible

Woden's Day

Hot Day in the Chihuahuan Desert

We ran into a woman and her daughter and their three dogs this morning.  Everything was copacetic between the four canines.  We did an abbreviated hike because I had to go grocery shopping.  That was okay with us because it was already very hot on the trail.

After a drink (non-alcoholic)

Tiny leaves

Petrified squiggle

Long, Hot Hike

The hot Chihuahuan Desert

Becca and I took a long hike around the Tortugas Mountain foothills this morning, only seeing a few other hikers in the vicinity.  It was hot and dry out there, and we could clearly see smoke from the Arizona and Mexico fires in our airspace.  We couldn't smell it, though.  Most of the Ocotillos have leaves on them now, and some are beginning to bloom again.

Becca doing her job

Becca sprawled in the dirt

New Ocotillo flower

The alert canine

Odd smoke formations over Tortugas

Less Smoke

Considerably less smoke in the air this morning

Fortunately, it wasn't as smoky this morning as yesterday, although we're under an alert all this week.  Besides the fires burning in Arizona there's one in Mexico, too.  The wind from the west is carrying the smoke in our direction.  We saw a few other hikers out and about around Tortugas, but we had no close encounters of any kind.  We got in a good, long hike before heading home.

Always ready to go

Mesquite Tree beans

Tortugas Mountain

Break time

Western Kingbird

Smoke

The Franklin Mountains near El Paso, barely visible through smoke

The smoke from the fire in southern Arizona was at its worst in southern New Mexico this morning.  Highly visible, it affected the throat, too.  Both Dr. K and I could smell it, and we were sure Becca could, too.  The massive fire in eastern Arizona is barely 6% contained, though we're not getting smoke from it.  Residents in central New Mexico, however, are being warned about the potential toxic effects of smoke from the fire.  One beautiful sight today was the flowers blooming on several Strawberry Pitaya cacti.


Flowers of the Strawberry Pitaya Cactus



Closeup of the Pitaya blossom

Perky stamens



At rest back at the Chihuahuan Observation Center