Black Top Mesa

It rained from 7 am to noon, and neither Tahoe nor I like hiking in the rain, so wehung out in the tent a bit resltlessly. When the sun finally broke, Tahoe practically ran down the trail; he was so happy. We hiked to a canyon near Black Top Mesa (not to be confused with Upper Black Top Mesa which is right next to it! )

As soon as I decided upon the perfect campsite for the evening with stunning views of the red rocks and lots of wildlife, it started to rain. How long does it take me to set up my soggy tent, in the rain, with a wet dog trying to jump in it? The answer, I disccovered, is 8 minutes. And that includes staking it down.

It rained off and on all afternoon, and the animals came alive after each burst of rain. I saw throngs of cactus wrens, javelina, several hawks circling, an owl, and 2 cardinals.

Tahoe got stuck with 2 big cholla on his leg, so I pried them off with my handy comb. There were so many needles clinging to this skin that it must have really stung, but he was strangely calm about the whole thing.