Coyote Crossing

Getting down to basics

It wasn’t that special a night, really. I was in Black Canyon in the Mojave Preserve for a two-day meeting of desert protection activists, good people all and fine company, but that soul-quenching aloneness I long for will have to wait for another

The Mojave Cross

The boxed-up cross on Sunrise Rock, Mojave National Preserve. Photo by Florian Boyd.

As far as I can determine from reading the decision [PDF], and contrary to what’s being widely reported today in the case of the Mojave Cross on Cima Dome, the

Morongo Bill Visits Ivanpah

Coyote Crossingian* Morongo Bill left his Backporch for a couple days and went out to what old desert hands still call the “East Mojave” — The Mojave National Preserve and my adopted home, Ivanpah Valley.  He took a hike on the site of the proposed

Unexpectedly ancient

I’ve posted this photo a few times. I’m posting it again now. What jumps out at you when you look at it? The light? The alpenglow on Clark Mountain in the background? The rocks, the Joshua trees? The blurry cholla?

Right now, for me, it’s the

California Desert Protection Act Maps

FURTHER UPDATED: Laurel Williams of the California Wilderness Coalition reminds me that many photos and descriptions of the land involved can be found at californiadesert.org.

UPDATED! Ryan has sent along maps for the National Park properties, and

Wild Horse Canyon Road

A little treat, shot in the Mojave Preserve:

About 15 years ago in this exact spot, a couple horses wandered over to Zeke to check him out. I’ve always assumed they belonged to some rancher, because they were not at all skittish — I placed my

Back out from the outback

I’ve been asking people over on Facebook to donate to the Desert Protective Council as a birthday present, and today my DPC colleague mentioned she couldn’t find the link here. Because there wasn’t one! Here it is.

The last couple days have been

Castle Peaks area would be added to Mojave Preserve

From the California Desert Protection Act of 2010:

‘‘SEC. 1702. MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the Mojave National Preserve is adjusted to include—
‘‘(1) the 29,221 acres of Bureau of Land Management land that is

Solar strip mining

If you wondered whether I might have been indulging in hyperbole of late in describing the solar energy barons’ plans with phrases like “paving the desert with mirrors,”  I wouldn’t exactly blame you. Certainly it’s not the whole desert, you might

Protecting the Mojave Preserve

I’ve joined the Board of Directors of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy, a “friends of” group whose mission is to “preserve, protect, and promote the unique natural beauty, ecological integrity, and rich cultural history” of the

Michael Gordon’s Joshua tree photos

One of the people I met this weekend out in Kelso is Michael Gordon, an outstandingly talented desert photographer. Michael’s been capturing images of Joshua trees that put mine to shame. (Though you should still buy my Joshua tree

Always take the good camera

Above, the best shot I could get of the critter who tried to gatecrash the Mojave National Preserve’s 15th Birthday Party today at the Kelso Depot. The middle of the tracks was as close as he was willing to get to the couple hundred people at the

Join me in Kelso this weekend

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Desert rain

This is a first draft of chapter three of the J Tree book, to be read tonight at the Writers Group. Again, like previous chapters, it won’t be here forever, but I thought I’d maximize the feedback possibilities in this new age of open-source

Mojave Wolf

Via Basin and Range Watch, a site you should be checking out regularly, this excerpt of a story from Dennis Casebier’s Mojave Road guide (Tales of the Mojave Road):

Last wolf of the East Mojave: Pauline Watson - standing, right - trapped this

Keillor Crosses Chris

It’s not all that often you see your favorite desert campsite being discussed by the Supreme Court and the nation’s media. But mine is, this week, if for reasons not directly related to desert conservation.

In other words, the case of the

Draft Chapter Two: Incensed

[Reading this at the writer’s group tonight. This won’t be here forever, but thought I’d share it. Devoted readers of my work may find a passage or two to be somewhat familiar. The first chapter draft — or intro, or whatever — is here.]

Removed so

Cima Sunset 6

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Cima Dome Sunset V

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Cima Dome Sunset II

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