Spent the day getting high and all I have to show is a bunch of pictures!

But oh what a great day!

First, I got up this morning, and there was a fiery beautiful sunrise.


 I certainly had to step outside and get a few shots.













It was breathtaking.



















Pearl and I met, dropped her pickup and started up the mountain. We were barely off the paved road when we saw these handsome guys. Would you look at those beautiful antlers? A regular stag party out in the woods! They were not worried in the least about us or the truck.

A bit farther down the road, I stopped and backed up to take a picture of this tree growing right out of the rocks. Life goes on when and how it will!

We stopped at one of the picnic areas, talked briefly with the ranger who was making his rounds, and I found this pretty little butterfly  on the Scottish Thistles.

What a colorful one he is!

The sky was so blue today!











A stand of aspens.









Here is a very short video of the aspens "quaking."Please forgive the shaky camera operator! I was on uneven ground! Oh, yeah, and the people in the background talking! They were really nice folks, but began chatting just when I started to shoot, not realizing I was doing a video.

Random flora.

A piece of the vista.

Did I mention the beautiful blue skies? Oh, I did? OK.

Pearl found some lichen on a rock that was interesting.

It was almost florescent, green and orange.

Flora.

Nogal Peak, somewhat near where I live, but from a different perspective.

Oh, lawdy the sky was gorgeous and SO blue! OK, OK, I'll stop it!

Don't know this plant, but it was certainly pretty.

This is a quiet spot off the trail in the center of a circular stand of trees. It was very peaceful here, and we returned later to have out lunch here. I had a cup of the guzpacho I made the other day and a cucumber sandwich. Sweetened the end of the meal with some cinnamon coated almonds. We sat on some big flat rocks with our backs against tree trunks for about an hour before starting down the mountain. But that was later. In this pic we are still going up.

No, we're STILL not at the top!!

Finally! There is the Lookout!!

The steps going up to the lookout. I surely wish mine here in my garden were as nice as these.










And then .......

I had to throw this one in. It is Buckhorn Mountain, and those towers on top are how you reach me if you should decide to call me! That's important!!

I took a picture of these people with the telephoto lens. We thought they were the people we had talked to at the place where I took the little video of the aspens. When I got home and loaded it to the computer to look at it full size, it wasn't them. But these young men came to the Lookout a little bit later, and we talked with them and I took a picture of all of them together. We learned that they were from Lubbock, Florida and Scotland!

And this is Ranger Frank Cannella. He spent close to an hour pointing out various landmarks to us since we know the area. He was very gracious and informative. He is heading up into the actual lookout room. This is an active lookout station for the Forest Service.

We started down, but took several side trails to check out the sights.


These rocks are on a precipice overlooking Sierra Blanca on the left edge of this shot.

I call this "Pearl on the Precipice."

She turned around and said, "It really is a precipice!"













I walked out and looked down. IT REALLY IS A PRECIPICE!




 

One last look at Nogal Peak.

Isn't that a gorgeous vista? And the sky .... SO BLUE!!  HA! I said it again, and I don't care!!!

I noticed this little train between the boulder and trees. I wouldn't, ahem, fit in there in all likelihood, but clearly someone has!

One last picture of an aspen. they are such graceful, pretty trees.












We drove down and home. It was a lovely day, full of the beauty of nature, peaceful conversation, good companionship. Every day should be so sweet.  :)

....Life is beautiful!!!!