Coyote Crossing

Naming the Joshua Tree Part 4: Scientific American

The author of the paragraphs quoted below, excerpted from a longer piece on California plants then assigned to the Liliaceae, is Francis M Fultz (1857-1948). Fultz is best known for his popular guide to the SoCal chaparral, The Elfin-Forest of

Regarding the use of the phrase “Yucca Palms” in 19th Century discourse

An excerpt of From San Francisco to Yuma City by “G.D.F.”; June 6, 1878, published in the July 1878 issue of the Monthly Journal of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers

Here we begin the ascent of the Sierras via the Tehachapi Pass, “over the

Eschscholzia parishii

I need to start taking the real camera on these hikes. This is a crappy phone camera photo of one of the dozen or so species of plants in bloom in the hills around here right now. It’s Eschscholzia parishii, a close relative of the California

The more things change

Francis B. Sumner (1874-1945) — shown above lounging in the Mojave Desert in a 1914 photo by Joseph Grinnell — was a professor of biology at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. He served as vice president of the American Academy for the

Son of Naming the Joshua Tree

Hey, remember that post I put up a few weeks back about how the story of how the Joshua tree was named is most likely folklore? The one where I said:

But in more than a decade of looking, I have seen not a single reference to the phrase “Joshua

Speaking of dogs

Embedded in this remarkable story, part of a documentary in progress by my writers’ group colleague Martin Kent, is a stunning detail — almost a throwaway anecdote — of the true, generous, honorable nature of our companion species, shining out in

Naming the Joshua Tree

Update: It looks as though I was utterly, unmitigably wrong in writing this post. Just so you know.

The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree’s unique shape

Beanery open at Kelso Depot

A little happy news for fans of the Mojave National Preserve:

(Kelso, CA) – The Beanery lunch counter is open for business at the Kelso Depot Visitor Center in Mojave National Preserve. The counter’s operator, Mike Williams, is serving light food