DNWR (Part 2) - Joe May Canyon

... more wandering amid the 'Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) and the 'Sheep Range'...

... 'Joe May Canyon' - composite topo and satellite mapping ('Hillmap' image)...

... the canyon is accessed by vehicle via unimproved (dirt, sand and rocks) 'Joe May Road', traveling over the low desert flats and ascending bajada landform until reaching the mouth of 'Joe May Canyon' (around El 5000ft), at which point the road ends and further access is by foot...

... the 'Sheep Range' and 'Joe May Canyon' viewed from lower 'Joe May Road' to the west...

... viewing west across the desert flats and the distant 'Spring Mountains' skyline - the landmark 'Mummy Mountain' and 'Mt. Charleston' - both holding some winter snowpack... was around 98ºF this day at our position in the high desert as we recall...

... some low desert vegetation - cactus and wildflowers in bloom...

... viewing north across the low desert...

... higher ground and a relic livestock corral...

... pretty typical road conditions - easy travel, but definitely needed twin-axle traction in one short, steep spot with loose gravel and recommend something with a bit of ground clearance throughout - we had a rental 'Nissan Rogue' - AWD and was plenty adequate**...

... 'Joe May Canyon' and a vast 'Mojave Desert Scrub' landscape...

... lots of 'Joshua Tree', 'Mojave Yucca' and assorted cacti vegetation...

... 'Barrel Cactus'...

... hiked a distance up into adjacent 'Black Gate Canyon'...

 ... the trailhead of which begins at the end of the road and forks with 'Joe May Canyon' (see topo map)...

... lots of wildflowers...

... not sure what this shrub is...

... a bit closer up...

... was full of honeybees...

... some type of small beetle we guess...

... more wildflowers and honeybees...

... and shrubs...

... didn't follow 'Black Gate Canyon' out (and back) it's length, though - the trail ascends a good distance and maybe another rugged 2,000ft into the high country - the objective today was to view and photograph a few 'Desert Bighorn Sheep'*... stumbled across many tracks and trails (above)...

... hiked back down into 'Joe May Canyon'... think that they refer to that distant long black limestone rock band as the "black gate", with the gate being a gap in the rock band providing access (3rd class scrambling) up into the  high peaks... may be wrong...

... finally viewed a few 'Desert Bighorns' way off in the distance and along this ridge line viewing through 10x binoculars - too far off for any good photos... note the large, ancient agave roasting pit photo center...

... hiked over to check it out - passed this small cave...

... and small arched limestone rock formation along the way...

... the roasting pit close up - Native Americans constructed and used these things for cooking agave plants they'd harvest and gather...

... it was a pretty windy day - before heading out we spent some time viewing a continual series of large 'Dust Devils' swirling for miles across the low desert flats (photo center)... they were best viewed through binoculars... the Native American 'Navajo's' refer to them as 'Chindi' and believe they are ghosts left behind after a person dies, and is everything that was bad about the person - "the residue that man has been unable to bring into universal harmony"... not surprised that we saw so many of 'em with "sin city" being directly upwind...

* ... or desert 'Raptors' - didn't expect to have much luck in the afternoon time period for encountering either, but on the way in, mid-morning and in the low desert, we did spot a very huge 'Golden Eagle' which was very near and flying close to ground level - apparently on the hunt -  failed on the few photo attempts, however... 

**... definitely need 'Sirius XM Radio' amongst the survival gear - never book a rental car without it... the brilliant 'Greg Allman' of the 'Allman Brothers Band' had (unfortunately) passed away that weekend and 'Deep Tracks' was playin' a lot of all their stuff - southwest desert cruisin' tunes don't get any better than that...

(YouTube video)

... rest-in-peace brother...

One Beaver, Three Eagles and a Skunk

... put in a bit of river time the past few weeks...

... our pal 'Jason' - up from Texas for a few weeks - out on the 'SUP' - river staging a bit high from recent rains...

... we by chance spooked a large 'Beaver' from cover along the river bank - spent about twenty minutes trailing him here, there and about - running us in circles - he under the surface, we on top... no photos unfortunately...

... the following day was out with 'Muscle Girl Sarah' and 'Z-Man'...

... river level really came up overnight - pretty swift and solid murk - unexpected and we didn't tote along any life jackets - zero water visibility - don't want to set bad examples so we recommend 'em as anything disappearing below the surface in these conditions is immediately sacrificed to the river spirits...

... sighted a group of three large 'Bald Eagles' late in the trip nearing 'South Connellsville' - they were pretty animated with a lot of calling - flying low too - near treetop level - was a bit too slow fetching the camera gear before they were gone...

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... been a small 'Striped Skunk' hanging around the homestead since late April - been noticing him on and off in the early morning... not bothering us so we're not bothering him... was somewhat docile and actually came up and sniffed around the shoes one morning - looked me up and down and continued on his way... a little over a week ago spotted him in the early morning - this time he's staggering up the sidewalk and appears a bit unkempt - lookin' like he had a rough night and even stumbled off the curb and into the street - gave him plenty of room to pass this time...

... last Saturday found him late morning in bad shape - struggling in the hot sun (!) to drag himself to his nearby den - was shakin' like a leaf and appeared to have very slight mobility in his rear legs... this ain't good... this guys in the late stages of either rabies or distemper in our opinion...

... decided to put the poor guy quickly out of his misery with a .410 round... contacted the 'PA Game Commission' figuring that they may want to test him for rabies - acted as if they couldn't be bothered and stated that they only test animals after someone's been bitten (?)... OK - sorry to disturb ya' on a Saturday I figured (more to this story but we'll leave it at that)... deposited the critter in the nearby woods... that's him above - skunks usually keep themselves pretty neatly groomed (like a cat) and are always nocturnal (dusk to dawn) - so be wary when ya' see one acting a bit out of character...

... updated 'Ig the Cat's' vaccines the other day just to be safe...

DNWR (Part 1) - Yucca Forest

... was out west a few weeks back and spent all our available time off-roading and hiking throughout the 'Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR)'...

... here's a map of the refuge... simply put, "...the DNWR encompasses 1.6 million acres and is the largest refuge outside of Alaska..." -  here's a link to their very good video which explains it all... west of the the refuge borders the off-limits 'Nellis and Indian Springs Air Base Range' and location of the infamous 'Yucca Flat' (previous) nuclear testing range...

...the refuge encompasses the 'Sheep Range' mountains (around El 10,000ft) and is the largest home for 'Desert Bighorn Sheep' in the US...

... our wandering was limited to the area of the southern Sheep Range - roaming the eastern 'Yucca Forest' and west on up to 'Joe May Canyon' (all around El 5,000ft)...

... the Sheep Range viewing east along 'Joe May Road'...

... 'Yucca Gap'...

... 'Fossil Ridge'...

... Fossil Ridge limestone rock...

... high peaks of the southern Sheep Range...

... viewing west thru Yucca Gap, across the low desert 'Indian Springs Valley' with the distant 'Spring Mountain Range' framing the horizon...

... a bit more distant Yucca Gap and Fossil Ridge - that's the landmark 'Mummy Mountain' profiling the far horizon along the gap...

... viewing the 'Yucca Forest' and distant 'Las Vegas Range' (see map) to the east...

... more high peaks...

... white clouds, blue sky and desert...

... viewing from up around El 5000ft and the high desert...

... high desert vegetation...

... about 15 miles out viewing west and the Sheep Range - other than a few ruts and dips the travel is pretty easy (typical desert trails of gravel and cobble rocks and sand) but we'd still recommend four-wheel traction with some ground clearance - also recommend to come prepared - can be a long walk back to help in the desert heat (although sounds like fun on a cool night with full moonlight) and it could be a few days before you encounter a passer-by - and you can easily find yourself 50 to 70 miles out if ya' want - no cell phone service either (that ends in the low desert)... 

... a final image viewing north across the 'Yucca Forest' and the northern Sheep Range...

Death or Unga-Bunga

... winding down a week of vacation time yesterday - grabbed a camera and took a trail ride up along the ridge to see what kind of photo opportunities we'd encounter - also wanted to work out the gear box on the daily driver KJ as it doesn't get a lot of use off pavement...

... about three miles out we came upon this patch of 'LBM's'...

... 'Little Brown Mushrooms'...

... boy - havin' a heck of a time identifying these things - in fact, we can't...

... could they be the 'Deadly Galerina'?...

... "just one pinch from the cap of the Deadly Galerina carries enough toxin to kill five men"...

... don't know...

... a bit later and higher up on the ridge...

... a big 'Timber Rattlesnake'...

... our second time up there this Spring and the second rattler in as many trips - he was on the move (must have had a date), only pausing long enough to warn us with a quick buzz or two - he was quick and soon to be into the tall grass - didn't get the best images focus-wise because of the combination bright sunlight and shadows and not much time...

... he was a big one - four feet and some inches and fat - nice colors...

... an interesting combination of potential death...