California, May 2024

California had received a pretty good amount of rainfall over the winter, so many flowers were blooming.

Dune Primrose (Oenothera deltoides) were abundant. The San Gabriel Mountains are in the distance.

A closer look at a Dune Primrose.

Playing peekaboo with a Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia). If you look down in the lower left corner, you an see why they are called fringe-toed lizards.

A Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii), as spotted on a warm dirt road.

A male Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana).

Desert Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa).

Desert Woollystar (Eriastrum eremicum).

A Great Basin Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris), as spotted on a dirt road. Usually, they don't sit still like this.

A Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides).

A Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), after it scampered off the road.

A Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii), as found.

Another Desert Horned Lizard, almost as found on a dirt road. It hunkered down as I walked up to it.

Yet another Desert Horned Lizard, almost as found. It too hunkered down as I moved in to photograph it.

One day I hiked up a canyon in the eastern Sierras adjacent to Ridgecrest.

Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris), with Sawtooth Peak in the distance.

A short distance further up the trail, a Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater), was spotted. Shown as found. This was at 3440'.

A closer look at the male Chuckwalla.

The Chuckwalla and his habitat. I suspect having access to the more succulent vegetation due the perennial stream is a benefit to this herbivorous lizard. I also wonder if this guy is responsible for denuding some of the Beaver-tail Cactus blossoms...

Some nice green vegetation.

Some snakey looking rocks.

Dad, supervising my sprinkler system repairs. He installed these in the early 1960s. I believe both of my brothers had to get stitches due to these sprinkler heads when we were growing up. Old School.

A Great Basin Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola), as spotted on the shoulder of the road at night.

A Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) found on the road. This one has a longitudinal strip on its neck.

I did some more exploring around the southern Sierras.

A saxicolous Leopard Lizard at 5400'. Five Fingers also visible.

A closer look at the lepster.

I am not sure what this flowering plant is.

Grape Soda Lupine (Lupinus excubitus var. excubitus).

The massive cones of the Gray Pine (Pinus sabiniana) are always impressive to see.

A trio of California Nightsnakes (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha nuchalata), as found under a rock in the southern Sierras. This rock was in a low spot and had a bit of moisture under it, which must have attracted the snakes. These were the only snakes found in the area.

A Desert Night Lizard (Xantusia vigilis) found in the southern Sierras.

A sub-adult California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae).

A California Lyresnake (Trimorphodon lyrophanes), as found on a road.

A closer look at the Lyre.

A Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes).

Mom and dad.

That's it for the trip. This turned out to be my last “normal” visit to Ridgecrest. My father's health soon declined significantly and he passed away in November of 2024, just short of his 95th birthday. My mom has now moved into assisted living and the house has been sold. End of an era.

Return to Carl's photos.