April 14th, 2011

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to the dinosaurs, asking yourself where or how they vanished then you clearly have never come across a roadrunner. Standing 10” tall and 2’ long this voracious predator hunts with tenacious speed and has a character  to match. Standing tall it cocks its long tail feather and Mohawk-like crest straight up. As it moves it lowers its head and tail giving it a streamlined shape. Its movements and appearance could well have been the inspiration for the Velacoraptor in Steven Spielburg’s Jurrasic Park.

Another day in the South McCullough Wilderness has shown less wildlife than yesterday, although some new and different encounters. I started the morning off with a small grey songbird pirched upon the yucca at the foot of my sleeping bag happily chirping as it gazed out over the rising sun spreading light over its domain. Unfamiliar with this particular species I assumed it to be a migratory bird, stopping here to indulge on the bugs as they rush to take advantage of the desert in bloom. I wondered how far it had come and how far it had left to go on and whether this was a regular destination on its yearly journey.

Zebra tail lizards dart in every direction as we walk along the sandy washes, waiting until the last possible moment before your footstep crushes it to make its hurried escape. So fast are these little creatures that they often catch air as they scurry up a tiretrack and travel quite some distance before touching the ground again.

Contrails streak the blue sky with strokes of white, as this is a major route for air travel to and from Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The only time I haven’t heard the grumbling of jets passing by is late in the night when your ears ring as they strain to hear the slightest of sounds.

My writing probably reads as sporadically as it feels to write. My cooking duties over thast few days may be to blasme as I tend to write around dinner time. My mind preoccupied with not burning the lentils makes my thoughts choppy.

Mesquite would be and interesting thing to write about with its gnarled shape and mistletoe parasite.

A Nalgene full of hot tea is helping to warm my sleeping bag. I keep it between my legs just above the knee to allow it the best access to my femoral artery. This lets my blood carry the warmth down to my toes. The rest of me will produce warmth by breaking down the lentils cooked in fajita seasoning, tortillas, onions, cheese and salsa that I consumed for dinner. As an extra bonus, when the water in my Nalgene has cooled slightly the tea I have placed within it will make a tasty treat and aid in my falling asleep.

I am tenting again tonight to keep the multitude of bugs from buzzing about my ears at all hours of the night. However, I do wonder if I am sabotaging my experience, as if I may end up learning from the humming and whirring of tiny wingbeats about my head.

My life right now tends to center around learning how be a man, a contributing member of society and a good human being. I am trying to test myself in various ways, mentally physically and emotionally. In some ways I’m being tested against my will, forced into situations that are uncomfortable for me to confront at the time and even painful. I want to be a better man. I want to be a good man. I want to be a positive influence on my grandkids someday. I want to inspire them. Sometime I think the only reason I do some of the crazy and stupid things that I do is to someday tell them a story or show them a picture of what an adventure life can be if they would just get away from that stupid TV and get outside.