Wall Street Mill

It was an early morning, I had to be out the door by 7:30am to get over to Twentynine Palms for squad, the regular meeting of the senior park staff: superintendent and department chiefs. As I was getting ready, sitting in front of my window, I noticed movement and looked out to see a coyote trotting next to my car, just outside. I grabbed my phone, the closest camera, and ran out the door and around the corner, expecting to be too late. As I came around, he was still there, about 20-30 feet away, and didn't notice me. He was intent on something, and as I fumbled to get my phone on to get a photo before he left, I saw more movement and saw there was another coyote, just a little further away. Another movement showed a third coyote. If any of them noticed me they were not concerned, too busy focused on the hunt. I watched them make eye contact with each other, making a plan, circling and advancing on an area of shrubs behind my car. Just when I thought they were going to strike out, a little cottontail shot out of the shrubs like a streak of lightening, taking off across the gravel. One coyote tore after it, gravel flying, and a second was close behind. The chase disappeared around the corner of my building, so I didn't get to see how it ended. I did get the video, and while a little grainy, it caught the action. I'll get it posted in the next few days, after I can make it to someplace with wifi. I do all of these posts tethered to my phone so have to watch the data.

I attended the meeting, talking a little to explain the exciting new direction the AiR program is headed at Joshua Tree with the addition of an educational outreach component that I am piloting. I very much appreciate having been asked to be a part of the transition this year. After the meeting I drove into the park, stopping near Barker Dam to take the trail to the Wall Street Mill site. It's a nice hike, though much of it is on loose sand through washes so a little slower than usual. At the mill site are some great ruins, and a couple others staggered along the way, another car and some building ruins.

I expected to have time for a second hike today, but I spent too long on photographs. I headed to Joshua Tree (the town) to meet ranger Alison at the elementary school where I'll be doing some teaching tomorrow. We wanted to check out the grounds and find a suitable spot to take the kids out for a drawing exercise. These classes are in preparation for a full day field trip next week, and both of these experiences are designed to get the kids ready to help with a mural when I return in April.

The evening was spent working on a plan for my classes tomorrow, eating dinner, sorting through today's hundreds of photos, and trying to get this post done tonight. Update: as I sort through and add photos to this post, there are coyotes yipping and howling from all sides. Oh, and there go some of the neighborhood dogs chiming in from their yards down the hill.

Cottontail just outside my door this morning.

Sunrise out my window.

Some gorgeous colors in the mammatus clouds this morning.

Two of the coyotes, I snapped images while filming, they're pretty poor quality.

The friendly roadrunner by the visitors center.

Starting the hike in to Wall Street Mill.

Rattlesnake weed.

Staying on the trail, very important in this fragile ecosystem.

Unknown moth or butterfly.

Couldn't find this little flower in any of my guides, I'll update if I find it somewhere.

One of several old cars around the mill site.

An old truck.

I love how the old tires are deteriorating,

Some fall color.

Hiking back, the cloud cover grew, making for intermittently challenging lighting for photos.

Another old car.

Wheel closeup.

Ruins of the Ohlson Ranch, aka Wonderland Ranch. I would sure enjoy knowing more of the history of this place.

Hiking back out.

Mariposa Lily.

Driving along the park road, the sealed cracks trace shapes similar to the clouds.

Dream Beneath the Desert Sky...

What an amazing evening I just spend, driving through the park, through the more remote Bighorn Pass Road and back on the Queen Valley Road. I was all alone on the dirt roads, it was marvelous. There were clouds today, the first I've seen this trip, which made for a spectacular sunset.

Earlier in the day, I drove down to Palm Desert with a ranger to buy supplies for my visit to a local school later this week to teach art. We managed a quick stop at In and Out Burger, always a treat, something I miss from my couple years living in Palo Alto. I always love driving into the Coachella Valley, it's beautiful. Today there was significant moisture coming over from the ocean, and a strong haze, likely a contributing factor to the amazing sunset.

While out in the park, I saw several cottontail, birds, and lizards, but the wildlife highlight today was a red tailed hawk perched at the top of a Joshua Tree. I wasn't quick enough with my zoom lens to catch him before he flew to a far away tree.

As I sit in my room tonight, the only sound is that of the howling wind...

A short hike on the Cap Rock Trail this afternoon.

Along the Cap Rock Trail.

Cap Rock Trail.

Likely rhizome growth, all these little Joshua Trees.

Monzogranite boulders.

A deceased tree.

A boulder pile near Cap Rock Trail.

A downed branch, that's still managing to live.

Mistletoe on a juniper. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host plant through its roots, choking off the branch beyond and eventually causing its death. Enough mistletoe on a tree can cause the whole tree to die.