California, May 2023

A mural in Barstow. The city was named after William Barstow Strong, the president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad in the late 1800s. Rail Baron players will know the nicknames, AT&SF or the Santa Fe, for this railroad.

A caterpillar of the White-Lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata). The moths were seen pollinating the Dune Primrose.

A Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), as found.

California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica). When we were dating in spring of 1991, Rox and I stumbled into these for the first time. That was also a good poppy year. We have managed to miss every good bloom year since then. We were a little late this year, but fortunately there were a few good patches left.

Roxanne sometimes amuses herself by taking photos of me. I will include some here. You can see here that the poppies were adjacent to an agricultural field. It was also cold and windy.

The Antelope Valley, with the snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains in the distance.

A young Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus), as found under a branch of a fallen Joshua Tree. This snake would have been born late last summer. It was in a rubble pile like you see in the previous photo. The branch which it was under was actually and inch or two off of the ground. I suspect the snake was hoping to ambush a lizard or small rodent.

This was the situation. Here, I have moved the branch over by six inches or so. Still cold and windy.

A male Granite Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus orcutti), as found.

A closer look. This heads of this species always strike me as being proportionally undersized.

The habitat where the Granite Spiny was found. Brittlebush in the foreground.

Photographing a different Granite Spiny.

Nearby, I walked up on this old mattress. Do you see it? One really does need to be careful when walking into the weeds in this sort of situation. I am glad that I spotted the snake from a good distance away.

After lifting the mattress. A Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber).

A closer look. It never budged.

This was some awkward photography. I had to get down on a nasty old mattress, and the mattress was folded in half and not very stable.

Another Red Diamond Rattlesnake. It was found under a board and had a very different disposition, compared to the previous one.

Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa).

Splendid Mariposa Lily (Calochortus splendens).

A female Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater).

Looking for lizards.

Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris).

A closer look at the beavertail.

A female Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana). She appears to be gravid.

A Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), perched on a rock.

Another Desert Iguana, as found. Although they do not require rocks, they definitely will use them, if they are available. It seems to be a guy thing -- I suspect they like to survey their territory.

Tom's Welding in Barstow. This guy has an amazing collection of Rout 66 theme memorabilia.

More.

Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister), as found under a creosote bush. The orange head indicates that this is a female.

A female Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides).

My parents in Ridgecrest.

Looking up at the Eastern Sierras, towards Olancha Peak.

Grape Soda Lupine (Lupinus excubitus var. excubitus).

A closer look at Olancha Peak.

Desert Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia).

A Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus graciosus) at 7380’. This is right around where I turned around.

There was still quite a bit of snow on the north-facing slopes at this elevation. This is unusual for mid May.

Desert Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua).

Dune Primrose (Oenothera deltoides).

The primrose and its habitat.

A Red Racer (Masticophis flagellum piceus), as spotted.

A closer look.

A Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos).

Another Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), perched on a rock.

A Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis), as found in the shade.

The oldest remaining Del Taco, located in Barstow. Apparently, the first Del Taco was in nearby Yermo, but it is not a Del Taco any more.

The front end of our rental vehicle, just be it was returned. This is the buggiest I’ve ever seen California, particularly the grasshoppers. I have encountered this before in Oklahoma and Texas.

That's it for the trip. I look forward to the next visit.

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