I am writing this approximately 4200 feet up on granite mountain. I am incredibly impressed with the nature and the beauty found in this place that I wouldn’t have expected. Climbing up was a difficult task but I am proud to say that I was able to do it even when I doubted that I could. The stream of water, the flowers, the birds, everything we saw impressed me more than the last because of the diversity and the ability of these species to live in this place. Although climbing through the plants and sliding down the rocks made it a little harder than expected, this climb was one of the coolest things I have ever done and I’m proud to say I got as far as I did. I was admittedly one of those people who didn’t expect to see many life forms in the desert and a lot more sand, this place specifically has already changed my opinion on that. I’m excited to climb the sand dunes next although I’m expecting it to be even harder. All of the exciting adventures and possibilities in just this location has convinced me that I want to move out of Florida and move somewhere where I can hike and climb mountains and explore nature, although it may not be in this exact remote location.

We hiked through Hellhole Canyon but I am happy to say my experience did not live up to its name. This is definitely my favorite hike that we have done on this trip because of the abundance of things to see. Lexus, Jacob, Josh, and I began the (already long 6 mile) hike with a detour up a little hill in search of snakes and although we didn’t find any it was still fun to look around and see everything else. On the way up we saw a spring and trees and grasses that I wouldn’t have expected to see in a desert setting, but the most exciting thing we saw was the snake we found under a log. I thought I’d be scared of it but this one was tiny and really pretty and although I didn’t hold it myself I pet it and it was super cool. Once we made it to the top we saw a waterfall and a wall full of ferns and other plant life I was surprised to see and Cody was right, it was worth the hike up. On the way down, after a little sprinting race between a couple of us, we took a different route and I saw a bunch of rabbits and a rodent of some kind. With ice cream as a motivator, we finished the hike down in a fraction of the time it took to climb up.

Today we adventured through Organ Pipe National Monument. The first stop that we made was a spring that was pretty impressive considering it was in the middle of a desert. In this spring we found minnows which were endangered and some very cute turtles. I observed one of the teeny tiny fish and it was really cute! I walked around the spring and saw a little scorpion and a bunny and a lot of birds. But the most exciting and memorable part of this day was when we were driving to stop for lunch and Cody slammed on the breaks and made us all get out of the car to look at a Gila monster he found on the side of the road! It was kind of bigger than I thought it would be and he was a nice black and orange color. We hiked some more through this park and found some pretty flowers and some really interesting cactuses.

Our first day in the Granite Mountains was met with decent rain for a desert. We were all supposed to climb up the mountain but as the rain started to pick up, most of us decided it would be best to head back to camp until the rain subsided. All except for Jacob, who wanted to find the springs nearby. After about 15-20 min, I decided to go look for Jacob, who was still searching for the springs. The rain hadn't slowed down, and hit harder as we continued to look for the spring together. The directions that were given to us were "around the ridge somewhere". Which ridge? How far past the ridge? We didn't know the answers to these questions so we began walking along the mountain looking for any sign of a spring. We joked as we found small puddles, "Is this the spring?" Jacob or I would jokingly ask. Our clothes became drenched, but it was warm enough outside to continue the search for about 2 hours until we decided we had no idea how to find it. We walked back along the trail towards camp until we heard a "waterfall" that was about 5 minutes away from the camp. We saw large, slick rocks that covered the mountain face. We looked at each other and asked, "Do we have to climb these rocks to get to the spring?". One of us responded, "I don't think Norm would make us do that." The next day Norm made us do that. It wasn't as dangerous once the rocks were dry and no longer slick. That night we dried our clothes and ate pasta for dinner. Being out in the rain, in nature, quiet, it was calming. I might have spent more time out there if I was better dressed for it. Jeans are not water-resistant.

Sitting here alone in nature, on the side of a mountain. Its quiet, except for the bugs buzzing and the birds singing. The solitude clears my mind and makes it easier to think. All the bullshit of daily life doesn't exist here. Deadlines don't feel real, rent payments don't exist, all that exists here is the battle for resources. It's pretty, but everywhere you look the organisms are fighting for the scarce resource of water. It rained yesterday but I imagine that normally water doesn't freely flow down the mountain. The desert is more lush here than I expected. I was expecting more sand, not pretty plants. Trying to make my way up the mountain, climbing rocks, its fun in a dangerous way. I didn't make it to the top when I started writing this, but I found myself a nice rock to sit on with a gorgeous view. Pristine views like this are already in short supply, and soon will be gone if we continue to rape mother nature.

Our last real day of hiking. Corona-virus panic and precautions are in full swing. The visitors center at organ pipe national monument are only allowing three inside at a time. Inside the visitors center you can find your age in saguaro years (65 years for me). On the bright-side of all this panic, we earned our not so junior ranger patches by doing some fun activities in a book that I can't forget to get out of the van as I am writing this (the book, not the patch). The way we all rushed to be the first to finish the crossword and other activities in the book reminded me of being a kid. Moments of silliness like this might be hard to come by in the near future as covid-19 continues to infect more people. This patch feels like an artifact that ties our group together. The patch will remind me of a day of silliness and heartbreak (for Jacob since he didn't get to see the gila monster). It will also remind me of all the other days we spent together walking around, observing the biota, laughing at each other's jokes, walking into cacti, racing to the top of a dune, cooking and cleaning for each other. There is something I'll miss about living with a somewhat large group of people. It could be my ancestral soul wanting to be around other humans I love instead of scrolling through my phone in a quiet apartment. Maybe some of us will lose the patch, but I will find a special place for it as it holds a lot of value for me. Also, a naturally occurring hole in a rock is not an arch, regardless of what the park service says.

This would be my first log in the set of 3 journal installments for over this trip throughout the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts! Upon entering the Mojave via California’s dusty roadways we took the drive to head into the Granite mountains, which, in hindsight, were one of the most majestic sites that I have been to. The research station in which we were staying was almost completely off-the-grid including no wifi, no service, and no toilets with running water (we had an outhouse)! As a result, this area was essentially a “technology detox”, and I’d only really use my phone to take pictures for iNat.
At the granites, from a biodiversity perspective, there was certainly a plethora of things to observe, from mosses and liverworts, oaks and pines, birds, cottontails, to my main project species, the desert agave. Unfortunately, I only found one agave that had pups, which are essentially small clones that surround the main agave parent along the hike/climb through the granite mountain trails. This agave specifically was still young as there was no reproductive stalk. Agaves die after producing the stalk because it is so nutritionally taxing, which is why pups are made to still keep some of the original plant’s genes in the ecosystem.
On our second day of the Granite Mountain and friends exposé we climbed up the Kelso dunes which was strenuous, but well worth the amazing view at the top of the dunes. Glad to know that this Desert Biodiversity class all made the climb! (Even though that climb made me question my physical abilities multiple times!) At this point we also found a used hub cap for tires along the side of the road to use for our memento to the research station.
In talking more about the granites, and the place we stayed at specifically, there was an amazing Vulcan stove and I was able to cook on gas, as well as for ten other people, both of which I have not done before! We also spent a night stargazing in being able to identify the Big Dipper, Sirius, and all the light pollution from Vegas. A favorite spot that I found where I made the overview of this journal post overlooked a waterfall and the area where we stayed. Basking in the scenery and being isolated from the Covid-19 crisis allowed me to meditate and think about being grateful for being able to enjoy traveling in these remote areas.

This is my second journal log, and picks up as we leave the Granite mountains. In leaving the Granite mountains, the original plan was to go through Joshua Tree, in hopes to see the aptly named Joshua trees in the area, however there was a torrential downpour where some of the locals expressed that this type of rain has not happened in the last 4 years. As a result, we had to change routes to avoid flooded roads and areas where landslides are particularly possible. After braving through the rolling rivers and the ebbs and flows of the valleys and mountainsides, we made it to Anza, with a couple spots to stand and check out a mountainside overlook where we were shoved by strong winds and were able to view a double rainbow!
Upon making it to Anza, I could feel that among the group a collective sigh of relief in having warm showers and private bathrooms with as much running water as we would want! The bar of Anza’s research station was also particularly neat! At the bar we were able to observe a coyote, hummingbirds, cottontails, and both mourning and white-wing doves.
The places we visited in Anza were also particularly cool to look at mainly because at Hellhole Canyon I was able to gain most of the data points in my project for the desert agave! I was able to find multiple with reproductive stalks and each one had pups! The organism that I wanted to see the most in our trip in Anza would be the Big-horn sheep found on the mountainside within Anza. I trailed a bit behind the group in hopes to be quieter to try and catch a quick glimpse of the sheep, but alas, I was unable to see one. On the bright side, some of my classmates were able to see a female before it frolicked away! From Hellhole Canyon, I was able to get more observations of Opuntia, Ocotillo, barrel cacti, some papilionoid legumes and a thick-leaf ground cherry which resembles a tomatillo in the family solanaceae! However, there were also plentiful amounts of damaging invasive plants of fountain grass and Saharan mustard that were choking the landscape.
The research station at Anza-Borrego with their touchy ceramic stovetops, wifi, beautiful sunrises, and rambunctious games of Uno, Spoons and Werewolf all culminated into an unforgettable experience! (Those morning on-the-spur breakfast potatoes are also going on my definite recipe list in my head!)

This is my third and final log on this set of journal entries! This would pick up on leaving Anza and heading towards Ajo, Arizona. The drive in crossing Cali into Arizona was pretty much seamless with the exception of the border control, at which point I knew we were nearing the US-Mexico border. I felt confident in knowing I am a US citizen, especially among my classmates, though I do feel that the border agents give me a second glance whenever I say I am actually a US citizen lol. Ajo was a pretty nice place to be even though it would kinda pale in comparison to Anza and the Granites.
But oh the places we went and the stuff we saw in this little town! We caught glances of the famous Saguaro during the drive, organ pipe cactus that we heard hum as the wind filtered through them, military planes practicing maneuvers over the mountainside, some scorpions (During a night walk with some blacklights we were able to see one pretty large on fluoresce!), and possible the best observation - a Gila monster with its deep scarlet and black patterns scampering from the dirt road!
During the trip in Ajo, compared to Anza and the Granites, the effects of Covid-19 were most apparent with some restaurants not letting us, a party of 12 in (A*riba (though honestly I wouldn’t either)), and us having to get meals to-go than just eating there! There was also a pleasant little coffee shop that covered breakfast for the two days we stayed there, so I would say that in our brief passing, we definitely left some type of impact on the town.
During our brief stint in the Organ pipe National park, we also participated in a not-so-junior-ranger activity in order to get some really cool looking patches that I would use a souvenir for the trip! One place that we visited while over there was the little spring that was very close to the border of Mexico that had little endemic fish that are federally endangered! I was able to look at them from afar in order to respect their space, as well as looking at the aquatic birds and turtles that were sharing their space. We also found some chain-fruit cholla which are my favorite iteration of cholla that I found on the trip because I think the fruit are cool!
During the drive from Ajo to Phoenix, I realized that I am going to miss the West with their mountains spanning the horizon, the dry air, and the abundance of cacti along the bumpy and sometimes sandy roads! However, it also made me more thankful for living on the eastern side of the US, being only a few minutes away from the beach and not having to moisturize nearly as often! This experience in the West really opened my eyes and I would recommend anyone who has even a tiny bit of interest in the desert to take this course! Hopefully there isn’t a global pandemic that can put a hamper on the travel or a super-rare torrential rainstorm that forces the itinerary to change for the next time!

I am currently sitting in between two rocks on the Granite Mountains at 4,000+ ft up overlooking the Mojave Desert. I am bleeding from my arms, hands and knees, exhausted, hurting all over, sweating profusely, freezing, and I feel so weak that I am contemplating sleeping on top of this mountain for the night and risking hypothermia. However, despite all of this, I have never felt this much happiness and peace in my entire life. I think part of it is because of how proud of myself that I climbed up so high on these jagged mountains and harsh vegetation. I have never been much of an athletic person nor have I ever even done so much as rock climbing in an air conditioned facility where you have safety equipment and workers babysitting you the entire time. This is only the second day of being here at the Granite Mountains in the Mojave National Preserve, and despite having to use an outhouse like I’m in the 19th century, today makes me excited for what the rest of the trip will bring. 
The rain that probably comes once a year in this desert has actually created a little spring, which was really cool to see. I also saw plenty of moss, cacti, plants and little rodents during my climb. I thought I heard a bird singing a beautiful song, but it turned out to be Jacob whistling. 

Later that night:
We star-gazed on a rock in our sleeping bags and I saw the Big Dipper, Little Dipper and Orion’s belt for the first time in my life. I have never seen the stars that clear and beautiful before, it was amazing! When everyone left to go to sleep, me, Jacob, and Josh were talking to owls and they were actually hooting back at us, it was hilarious. Then, we ran back inside the cabin because we heard a bobcat growling and I nearly crapped my pants. Anyway, it's been a great day.