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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> New Mexico >> Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument – New Mexico tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument – New Mexico

Images of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument – Western New Mexico, taken in October 2022.

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is a rugged mountain range ten miles east of Las Cruces composed of jagged granite pinnacles and dark volcanic rock. This range extends for twenty miles and is 9,006 feet in elevation at its tallest point.

I visited this spectacular range of peaks, highlighted by the deep blue New Mexico skies, on my 65th birthday; it will be the last park I visit for some time as I head back to Tucson for the winter. I took a three-mile round trip hike along the intermediate Dripping Springs Trail which takes you into the volcanic section of peaks. I take pride in making this hike on my 65th birthday because I did it with two bad knees and a bad back, all of which will need attention next year. I never dreamed I would look forward to officially becoming a senior citizen but I will now be afforded the opportunity to get things worked on which I have been putting off for a lot of years. This certainly is the time to take action as my various physical issues dictated which trails I could, and could not, hike this year. So, there will be a good bit of down time but I will rise up from the ashes and be back on the trail in 2024.
Plutonic Rocks (left) and Volcanic Rocks (right) in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Plutonic Rocks (left) and Volcanic Rocks (right) in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM 		Warning sign at the beginning of the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Warning sign at the beginning of the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Plant life at the base of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Plant life at the base of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Large volcanic rock formations along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Large volcanic rock formations along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Rugged peaks as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Rugged peaks as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Mountain peaks along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Mountain peaks along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 La Cueva, known as Cueva Tuff, as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
La Cueva, known as Cueva Tuff, as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 View along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
View along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Rock formations to the north from along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Rock formations to the north from along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 La Cueva as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
La Cueva as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Tall grasses on a prairie along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Tall grasses on a prairie along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Sunlight glistening off of the tall grasses in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Sunlight glistening off of the tall grasses in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Yucca plant along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Yucca plant along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Lone tree on the prairie along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Lone tree on the prairie along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Rocky outcropping as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Rocky outcropping as seen from the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Outbuilding from the VanPatten Mountain Camp in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Outbuilding from the VanPatten Mountain Camp in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Barb wire fence and posts in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Barb wire fence and posts in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Livery from the VanPatten Mountain Camp in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Livery from the VanPatten Mountain Camp in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Dripping Springs as seen along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Dripping Springs as seen along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Boyd Sanatorium along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Boyd Sanatorium along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Ocotillo plants on a rocky outcropping in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Ocotillo plants on a rocky outcropping in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 View of the Shark Tooth over a grassy prairie in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
View of the Shark Tooth over a grassy prairie in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Prairie Smoke plant along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Prairie Smoke plant along the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 The Dripping Springs Trail with the Shark Tooth in the distance in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
The Dripping Springs Trail with the Shark Tooth in the distance in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 A dead tree in the hills above the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
A dead tree in the hills above the Dripping Springs Trail in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
La Cueva sits below the jagged peaks of Plutonic Rocks in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
La Cueva sits below the jagged peaks of Plutonic Rocks in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Baldy Peak looms directly above La Cueva with the Shark Tooth on the right in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Baldy Peak looms directly above La Cueva with the Shark Tooth on the right in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 La Cueva sits below Baldy Peak in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
La Cueva sits below Baldy Peak in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 View of La Cueva from the park road in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
View of La Cueva from the park road in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Closeup of La Cueva from the park road in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Closeup of La Cueva from the park road in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Jagged peaks and needles of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Jagged peaks and needles of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Closeup of the rugged Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Closeup of the rugged Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 Jagged peaks and needles of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
Jagged peaks and needles of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 View from the north of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
View from the north of the Organ Mountains in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM		 The peaks of the Organ Mountains from the east at sunset from US 70 in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM
The peaks of the Organ Mountains from the east at sunset from US 70 in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM

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Greg Temple 10-Nov-2022 15:33
Great final set of pics Jerry! Good luck with the knees. I am right with you, - just applied for Medicare last week!
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