CLIMBING DESERT MOUNTAINS, HIKING DESERT LANDSCAPES

A wonderful thing about this National Monument is that you don't have to stay on trails - you can hike cross country, scale the surrounding mountains or wander through desert washes as your heart desires. Snakes, cholla cactus, and not enough water are your only concerns! Today we went up to the top of some ridges near the campground, and hiked on rarely used trails that led between mountains to more mountain ridges. Darell tends to go for the tops of mountains and the ensuing vistas; I tend to enjoy the minutiae (and photographing my new obsession: the Barrel Cactus). The 360 degree views from the mountaintops just can't be done justice in photos, but here are a few glimpses:

This is the view as we rose from the base of the ridge

Here's an Organ Pipe Cactus growing out of the rocks at the top of this ridge

A view from my perch on the huge rocks atop the ridge

This is from another mountain ridge top we ascended later

And now for some Cactus close ups that I took while Darell climbed up mountains:

An army of Barrel Cactus spines

Spines, close up

Colorful spines

Colorful spines, close up

Ocatillo (not really a cactus, just a shrub) spines

Red spines on the tips of an Organ Pipe Cactus