High-Country Hike Before Heading Down

Top left quadrant of a sign on the Grand View Trail

After one last hike on the Grand View Trail this morning our long weekend in the Sacramento Mountains came to an end--so we got to spend the last few days of summer and the beginning of fall there.  We avoided the Cloudcroft area because the trails are still muddy at the 9,000 foot elevations.  As mentioned before, because of all the rain in the area we had quite a bit of yard work to do.  I used a grass trimmer to cut all of the grass and weeds, and I paid the price for it:  one whole day of full-blown allergies. Yippee!   

Indian Paintbrush

Becca near the stile over the boundary fence

Headed back up the Grand View Trail

A grand view

Steep Hill Road

White Sands

Jennifer Juniper

To the Falls and Back

Looking out a cabin window before sunrise

There were three or four Mule Deer on our property this morning before the sun came up.  After sunrise we drove a few miles to the Bridal Veil Falls trailhead and did a long hike into Salado Canyon down to the falls, which was running pretty good due to recent rains.  The high desert is incredibly lush because of all the precipitation.  It was 47 degrees Fahrenheit when we started off, but it felt quite warm later because of the sun.  We saw four people and three dogs on our trek, including Phil and his black Lab, Murphy, who went for a swim in the creek as soon as he saw the water.

Young Mule Deer doe

Young buck browsing next to our driveway

Rolling mountains near High Rolls

Sacramento Prickly Poppy

Sacramento Prickly Poppies

Bridal Veil Falls

Heading back

Somebody's property line

Toward the canyon bottom

White Sands (speck at top center is a Turkey Vulture)

 

Cloud Cover

Cloud layer in the Tularosa Basin

When Dr. K, Becca and I started our hike on the Grand View Trail this morning there was a thick layer of clouds below us in the Tularosa Basin.  Within fifteen or twenty minutes the clouds had engulfed the entire area and we did our trek in cool, overcast conditions.  Having not seen a tarantula all summer we were surprised to encounter two on the trail.  The short video below captures the second in motion.  The abundant rain has produced an incredible number of wildflowers.  Some pictured here I haven't ID'd because I'm too tired from all the yard work we had to do after our hike.

Tarantula #1

Checkerboard pattern in the valley

Furry puffballs on unknown plant

Always ahead of the pack

Beautiful white flowers

Tarantula #2

Rails-to-Trails ramada

Looking down canyon toward White Sands National Monument

Land of contrasts

Becca and Dr. K at the ramada

Packrat and Becca

Clouds heading our way

A few patches of sunlight

Pink trumpet

Pink, yellow and green

On the trail under the cloud cover

Sparsely populated by people

Indian Paintbrush

Moving on down the trail

Sunflower among Yucca leaves

Crocodile rock

Never sated on smells

One of our neighbors' horses

Another of their horses

 

From Low Desert to the Mountains

Somebody's desert gem

Becca and I did a quick hike around Tortugas before we headed up into the Sacramento Mountains with Dr. K.  Because of all the rain we've received we were quite concerned about what we might find here on our property.  Fortunately we had only one dead tree that had toppled over near the driveway.  We do have a lot of yard work to do, though, and we'll have to get to it after our hike tomorrow.  On the upside, we got to meet our new neighbor, Cowboy, who looks to be pure Australian Shepherd.

Tortugas Mountain from a distance

The flank of Tortugas (left) and the Organ Mountains

Tortugas and the Organs

Popcorn clouds above Tortugas

Cloud shadows on the Organs

Midsection of the Organs

In Tortugas's western foothills

Dawdling on the trail

Looking west across an expanse of Chihuahuan Desert

Franklin Mountains near El Paso

From the top:  Hailey, Champ and new neighbor, Cowboy

Cowboy has one brown eye and one blue

What a yawn:  Hailey, Champ and Cowboy getting a pet from Dr. K

Unidentified flowering bush growing in the backyard

Closeup of un-ID'd flower