a pinyon/juniper high

there are ancient forests at mesa verde --- it's easy to miss the fact that the pinyon pine and utah juniper that still forest large swaths of the mesa can be very old even though they may be only 25 or 30 feet tall --- the champion juniper is estimated at 1,300 years --- the smell as one walks the trails is truly wonderful

the nevada desert was blooming for us in march, and the colorado/new mexico desert did the same for me in may