Days 4-6
As the days pass, I grow more and more in awe of the amazing desert landscapes. By day 4 we’d driven through and explored Amboy Crater, Joshua Tree National Park, and Cottonwood Spring. We spent an hour or so lizard hunting among the lava rocks at the base of Amboy Crater. The lizards were so adapted to their environment among the black rocks that their skin had evolved to a dark charcoal grey color. They had beautiful blue markings that were visible for a short time before the lizard darted back in between the rocks. Joshua Tree lived up to its name and contained an ungodly amount of—you guessed it—Joshua Trees. We were able to explore even more plants among the boulders, discovering at least 3 species of Eriogonum growing fairly close together. Again, it seemed so impossible that plants could grow on top of these hard rocks when it seemed that so few nutrients would be available to them. I was to happy to finally see a real-life jojoba plant after years of using jojoba oil-infused shampoos and soaps. Cottonwood Spring provided another fun mountain climbing adventure as each student aimed to climb higher than the last. We were able to spot a pair of cottontail rabbits near a grove of towering palms. The sunset was gorgeous, inviting a variety of birds to come out and soar above the boulders. Our next stop was Anza-Borrego.
After a restful night (and a much-needed shower) at Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center, we explored Coyote and Palm Canyons on our 5th day. The plants of Coyote Canyon had just recently begun flowering and fruiting, so the edges of washes were littered with splashes of yellows, purples, and pinks. I thought the beaver tail and barrel cacti had the most beautiful flowers, with large pink and yellow petals respectively. This was the first time I’d seen wild cacti in bloom, and I was definitely not disappointed. We were able to see and hear a variety of birds as we made our way up a small stream. One of the most distinctive bird calls was that of a Costa’s Hummingbird, whose shrill zing! sounded almost electronic. Phainopeplas were also abundant, easy to spot by the white feathers on their wings. The small stream attracted a variety of insects, and even a couple of frogs. The guide we were with told us the frogs were relative to the native green tree frogs of Florida. After lunch we ventured out to Palm Canyon where we took a 3 mile round hike up to a large grove of towering palms. We spotted a pair of big-horned sheep at the very top of hillside: a father and a lamb. As we travelled back down the mountain, we took an unfortunate wrong turn and found an incredibly massive pile of human scat. Yes. Human. I guess when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. At least it seemed the culprit would’ve been well hidden off the correct trail.
Day 6 was pretty much just traveling. We departed California for Gila Bend, Arizona, stopping for restroom and a lunch break along the way. I may have screamed a little when I saw my first saguaro on the side of the highway. The Mexican restaurants in California were pretty impressive, but Dr. Douglas insists that the carne asada from Arizona blows them out of the water. We will see...
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