Getting Toasty

Monitoring three Jackrabbits' flight into the desert

Weather forecasters are predicting we'll hit 86 degrees Fahrenheit today; that's 30 degrees Celsius.  That's the high we usually reach in mid-May, so pardon me while I complain about the heatwave for a spell.  The only redeeming thing about this temperature rise is that nighttime temps are going to be in the mid-40s F.  That means it takes the day longer before the ambient temperature feels somewhat uncomfortable.  I have relatives who love the heat; my brother, for example, lives in the Phoenix area and has no problem with the 97 F (36.1 C) they'll hit today.

They went that-a-way

In the Tortoise's foothills

The trail bends this-a-way

One of Becca's favorite sandy arroyo bottoms

Critter alert!

Torrey Yuccas still blooming all over the desert

With Tortugas Mountain as backdrop

End of Spring Break

I took this same image yesterday to compare flower numbers

Surprisingly we went through a week of spring break with very few students frequenting the mountain; last year they swarmed the area.  Perhaps they found a better place to go.  No problem for Becca and me, though, because we like the solitude.  We didn't run into one other soul out there today even though there were two cars in the parking lot when we got back to the Sunset Area.  I count fifteen flowers blooming in that first image.  Have to go back to yesterday's photo to count the blossoms.

Looking west out of the foothills

The middle trail

Enormous Prickly Pear Cactus pads

Something's in the air

Looking back at the Tortoise

Bosom buds

Closing in on the mountain

Into the foothills now

Just Beyond the Hump

Headed for the outback

Becca and I got an early start on our trek west of Tortugas Mountain this morning.  The weather was just beautiful.  There were a few more people out and about this morning, but we only had a close encounter of the third kind with one:  a man hiking alone who said to us, "Nice morning, isn't it?"  I agreed, but Becca was noncommittal.   She and I did a long hike replete with some bushwhacking again; it's often the best way to get the perspective you want on particular photographs.

Claret Cup Hedgehog Cacti are blooming all over the mountain

All-dog-all-the-time blog

Sandy respite

Day at the beach

Looking west down a large arroyo

Looking east from the same spot

Long dirt road across the desert floor

Heading back into the high foothills

A dead Ocotillo snapped off by the wind

Can't stop photographing Torrey Yuccas

Creamy white flowers

Tinged with maroon

Tortugas (Tortoise) Mountain

I watched this Roadrunner carrying sticks into a Yucca for a nest

How's that for camouflage?

White-winged Dove atop a Yucca

Takeoff

Will Bushwhack for Photos

Sometimes you have to get off the beaten path

We had to do a little bushwhacking this morning to get some of the photos we wanted to take.  I'm not too concerned about rattlesnakes yet, but we are moving into the time of year when they're out and about.  It was slightly chilly for starts--low 40s with a steady breeze--but it felt pretty nice most of the way, and I was able to keep my light windbreaker on for the entire trek.  We ran into Gregg and, later, Jimmy, both of whom were headed to the mountaintop.

Claret Cup Cactus

Mounds of Strawberry Pitaya Cactus

Find the bunny

The Ocotillos haven't begun leafing out yet

A saddle on Tortugas (Tortoise) Mountain

Torrey Yucca and the Organ Mountains

The rugged Organ Mountains (named by the Spaniards after pipe organs)

A serious impediment to bushwhacking:  the bush called Catclaw (acacia)

A nice stretch of Chihuahuan Desert

Yuccas in the rolling foothills

Where the Tortoise (left) and the Organs seem to meet

The southern Organs in the distance

On the road again

A melodious song catches our attention

It belongs to a Loggerhead Shrike

Hard to tire of these Yucca flower stalks

I like the composition of this image

You can see that the desert isn't exactly flat

Rocky cactus garden

Agave

A flycatcher

Almost back to the trailhead