Month: April 2009

We bid farewell to my beloved Catalina mountains on Tuesday morning.  Texas here we come!
But first the cool boulder land of the Dragoon Mountains south of Tucson…


What a nice thing rest stops are– a place reserved for emptying bladders and filling stomachs and taking pictures!   The early pioneers never had it this good…


Joshua trees are in abundance  in New Mexico!

Ahh the great moment for Rachel… We cross the Texas border!


Just beside the highway passing through El Paso is Mexico…

We reached our destination for the day (Hueco Tanks State Historic Site,  east of El Paso) only to be turned back.  Too late to camp.  Sigh.

So while we regrouped we snacked in the car listening to the yip of coyotes across the plain…

Then we headed on into the night, arriving by night at another Park just in time to claim the one remaining campspot.  Up in the Guadalupe Mountains the night sky was brilliant.  We did some stargazing before tucking in for the night.


Morning light revealed our location more fully…

Yucca.

We got up and at ’em early– heading for Carlsbad Caverns…

There is nothing like morning in the desert.  The air is fresh and cool with a hint of a breeze caressing… I went out this morning early to capture this last morning in the desert before we leave Catalina (a bedroom community of Tucson).

These new  housing developments have an enormous amount of rockwork defining the hillsides and preventing erosion.   I sat just above a wash area to listen and watch the morning…


To be still and remember…
the cooing of doves, quail partners calling to each other, the flutter of little wings,  songbirds rejoicing in the morning…
A wee yellow tit came to investigate this dark spectacled trespasser (me).  He flitted from branch to branch coming ever closer and then on around behind my back twittering to himself all the while.  Who is this? What is she doing here? 
Then along came Mr.  Roadrunner on his morning circuit.  He kept a watchful eye on me as he did his rounds in search of breakfast.  What a treat to have him pass so near!


After he had passed I quietly tucked my camera in its spot at my side without looking… and next thing I knew it was tumbling down the rock wall, bounce, bounce, bounce till it came to rest in the roadrunner’s trail. Ouch!
And that’s when I took my descent to amble about in the wash (and try out my camera to see if it would still function!).  Here’s what I saw…


 
before turning my steps back to our host’s house…

The desert wilds have been invaded by people since we moved away.  This entire community is new. (You can just see our car and Boler parked at our host’s house).
But the wildflowers have found their nooks despite it all.

Don’t fence me in!