A stroll in the High Desert

Connie really likes going out in the Desert to the little hidden spots, even if there aren't any real spots, just Sage, and the hard to see denizens of this area. I had been wanting to revisit the waterfall that I got Leezard from a few years ago. ( A Prairie Falcon ) The trip there can be termed as "tough sledding" (Alaska slang for Summer), but the weather and temps were about as good as they were ever going to get.

After arriving at the turn off on Hwy 78 we parked the truck and unloaded the quad. Our timing was good as the runoff from winter had solidified and we were back to dust rather than mud.

I had made a little pack out of one of the most uncomfortable cloth back packs that I own, and it consisted of three bottles of water, camera, pistol, sunblock and a pepsi. It felt like a bag of bricks on my back before we were through.

The dirt track is somewhere around 24 miles to our parking spot, and it varies from Playa to soft ball sized rocks. As we were bumping along I heard Connie exclaim as a rock bounced up into the running board of the quad. It had made her jump as it had startled her.

The feral Horses had gone back into the Sheepsheads range where there is more water and to catch the greening grass. All along the trail were the rock Cairns that the Basque had erected on the tops of the lava lumps during the times that they ran Sheep in this country. I have heard that they did so out of loneliness, wanting to think that they were not so alone, but I think it more likely to be able to get their bearings and out of boredom. Besides people stack rocks almost every where you go. Seems natural, if not currently irritating to some.

The road was littered with the remains of the Stud horse territorial markers. ( Piles of horse crap, generally right in the middle of the "road".) We only saw two Antelope, and a dead Cow, ( also in the middle of the road) The interesting part is that the Cow only had Ravens for dinner partners, and only the  stomach had been fed on, even though the carcass was quite old. No Coyotes in the area apparently, making the area a good spot for a Mother Antelope to raise their young. There are quite a few that live there.

Connie was quite enthralled with the various Lava tubes, some intact others collapsed leaving a trough in the desert. The further we traveled the more numerous were the Cairns, some of which were quite elaborate.

Eventually we arrived at some territory that was too rough for the quad, and we had to hoof it to our destination. I wasn't real sure how far it was across the desert, but some of it has enough rocks and other ankle turners that it is difficult to make your way across it. As we crested a small rise a covey of 5 Sage Grouse lifted out of the Sage and flew about 50 yards and then set down again. I was very pleased to see them. I had never seen any there before.

While the land all looks the same there is a subtle difference as we progressed to the "waterfall". Quotes because while it used to have a lot more water and perhaps ran all year if the stones are any indication, but there was only the green stagnant pool at the bottom now.

The closer we got to the ravine the more flowers we saw. ( the flowers are just beginning to come out now) and we started finding the little small Barrel Cactus, that I have only seen on that bench. They are about the size of a Base Ball, and whatever they are called this is the very Western part of their range.

When we eventually arrived I was pleased to see that the Prairie Falcon was there and sitting on about three eggs. Guessing because they were under a ledge almost out of sight. We had our look, and moved back so that the female could return to her eggs.

There is a pool at the bottom of the fall, and over the years it has dug out a spot deep enough to hold water at least through some of the summer. I have no idea as to how long or even if it ever dries up. There were lots of frogs and it must have been pretty noisy in the evening.

The little Cactus were actually quite plentiful in the area and it is of course littered with obsidian chippings, as it was a perfect ambush spot for the indigenous people that lived in the area. We found a few broken and discarded arrow heads in our travels and around the overlook.

The evening was quite warm, and Connie was overheated, as she, for whatever reason, is unable to sweat. So our return was a lot slower than our arrival. We did see a small rodent that I had never seen before, ( views of it were only fleeting at best) but I thought it might have been some sort of Gopher. Connie said that its tail, only about two inches long was flat and furred, I didn't get that good of a look. It wasn't very fast and not more than 6 inches long. Connie felt that it was a baby of some sort. I still think that it was some sort of a Gopher that had no idea that he wasn't alone in the universe.

The desert is deceiving in that while it looks flat, it isn't. I had taken my bearings on the distant hills and we hit the spot that I had left the quad dead on. I was very glad of that as the trip had been a bit more than was comfortable for Connie. My feet felt as though the bottoms of them had bee sanded, so I am sure that Connie was hurting as well.

I had taken my phone on this trip to record how much we had walked, and as I checked it, Connie discovered that she no longer had her phone. She had thought that it was in the quad, but that soon proved untrue. After a lot of consideration she decided that she had dropped it on the ride in. Only 24 miles of road to check, no biggie? At least we were back to the quad and we had a ride out of there, I told her that if it was on the road, I would find it. Sure, no problem!

On the way back I checked the cow to see if there was a number on the ear tag. Nope, just a yellow tag. We moved right along to get the stink out of our nostrils, with Connie "back seat" driving- "slow down, your going too fast"! Eventually I got off and made her drive, and then I couldn't see as well as I wanted. I was pretty sure of the general area that she had lost it, and that was where the rock had startled her. Only problem was remembering where that was in the 24 miles of dirt track.

Eventually I got tired of being a back seat driver as well and I made her stop so I could drive. I was pretty sure that it had fallen in the road and being black and most likely shiney, it should show up pretty well. Eventually a bit more than halfway across to my truck I could see it lying there in the road, and then all was well with the  world again. Then it was only dust and bumpy road.

I have been trying to lose my winter blubber, so I am on a pretty restrictive diet. I have found that more than 750 calories and I maintain weight, so I only eat one meal a day and had started the day weighing 216. When we got back I checked my phone for my steps and found that it showed that we had walked 5.3 miles and I had burned 700 calories. I got on the scales and found that I now weighed 212.5 lbs. I did it more than once so it wasn't an error. I have since gone back up to 213.5. Connie gained a pound! I guess I gave her too much of the water.

While doing my chores this morning, I took a Mouse that I had found in one of my traps, out to Hope for a appetiser, and found that she had been busy overnight. Crap! There was a time when I would have been happy to have a female that was willing to nest. Now I only want her to finish her molt so that we can hunt again, and here she is doing what nature intended her to do. Sigh!

Her first ever egg.