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After about 10 miles we came to the end of the road where we found the trail that would eventually lead us to Ash Creek

After a quarter mile, we turned off the Greenhouse trail to Ash Creek.  It's a beautiful ramble along steep hillsides and dodging some enormous agaves.

A few spring flowers appear along the way.  Sand verbena here.

The trail takes a gentle turn with a down-valley view.  That's when it occurred that the veil was mainly dust!  High winds in nearby New Mexico produced this phenomenon!

The trail drops down into Ash Creek where we'll cross and start the second half of the hike.

There are several crossings, but all of them easy.

The trail parallels another creek.

Encountering gates on trails isn't at all unusual.  What was unusual about this one was that we simply could NOT get it open.  Stubborn rusted metal and no way to squeeze around it, the only choice was to go up and over.  

One more creek crossing, then a trudge uphill to the car.  This was a lovely hike and one recommended to us by our Portal friend Molly H.  Portal is pretty remote, but a beautiful birding spot and a great place to star gaze!