Trail Master of the Blue Dot

On Friday, started down the Blue Dot Trail, late afternoon.  Was dubious - looked like there'd be a thunderstorm.  Imagined myself, alone, tripping on rain-slick basalt, bones broken, spending the night, fighting off coyotes and mountain lions.  Even dry, the tread surface is unforgiving - full of loose stones that act like roller bearings.

Despite melodramatic misgivings, I made it safely to the bottom of the Blue Dot, and then walked north to a little beach along the Rio Grande.

On the way back, I came around a rock and saw a rattlesnake laying across the trail.  It was really quite beautiful with it's cream and brown coloration.  Less appealing was how, instead of slithering off like a good snake, it coiled by the side of the trail and incessantly rattled, daring me to pass. OK, now what if was toting a gun?  Seems to me the best survival tactic would be for the rattlesnake to have gotten out of Dodge as fast as it could!  

Most of the rock in White Rock Canyon is basalt but this looks like tuff.

Small bosque

 Western diamondback rattlesnake rattling along the Rio!

Buckman Mesa from Blue Dot