Early Morning at Stirrup Tank

Got up around 5:30 this morning and drove out to Stirrup Tank Road, a right turn just past Twin Tanks and White Tank Campground. At the end of the road (about a mile) you can park and boulder around the area until your heart's content. There are some great views of the area from up top. I usually pack a lunch and find a nice little flat spot up there where I can enjoy my repast and catch a little catnap before ambling back down to the basin. It's somewhat hard to catch the breadth of the area on camera, so I made a panoramic (click on to make larger) of the rocks and got a couple of shots of the intriguing, sculpted rock faces. It's easy to spend the whole day in there, just meandering around and watching the light change. On the way out, I saw the Datura were blooming and got a couple of close ups. In fact, there are still a lot of flowers blooming at this time. The Desert Sienna is, I would say, 'blasting' forth, so much brilliant yellow everywhere. The Paper Bag bushes are running riot and the Creosotes are exploding with blossoms. Look down at your feet and you'll see these little, delicate, pale purple blossoms in groups. A nice end to May.