where the streets have no name

carrying one small bag a piece, we caught the saturday morning train, we'd only be away one night. we were on our way to anaheim and angels stadium, to see u2. U2!  the train delivered us at angels stadium, and we'd reserved a room a short walk away. so close was our hotel that when the bands began warming up in the late afternoon, we could hear them! it was a great great show, and an excellent, great night. i realized later, it was one of the only times my husband has been without his camera. me too. well, almost, i had my cell phone. all photos are taken with my phone, except the ones borrowed from here.

amtraks pacific surfliner train runs next to the coast

sunday afternoon, home again. and ready for part two of weekend plans. we raced home, unpacked our city bags and packed again (cameras now), this time for camping. we were heading to the carrizo plain, intentionally ignoring that it would be swelteringly hot in the california valley.

we were on a mission to find an endangered lizard, the blunt- nosed leopard lizard. and it likes the heat.

on our way, passing through the sespe wilderness we saw blue sage

and matilija poppies. the temperature began to rise

welcome to the carrizo in summer

noticing how brown it is now. and how almost all alone we are. the kcl campground is empty except for a few feathered year round residents.

in the campground there are towering eucalyptus trees that are home to many of carrizos birds. walking around the base of the trunks i found this raptor feather, it might be from an owl.

i think this totem helped me to see...

a running desert cottontail

a curious finch

a watchful california ground squirrel

and a chattering bullock's oriole

 it was also easy to see hiding black-tailed jackrabbits

 and a digesting gopher snake

 escorted out of the road by chuck

a soaring red-tailed hawk

and a greater roadrunner crossing the road

parry's mallow still growing on the hillsides

and an at ease western rattlesnake

basking in the sun

not even shaking his rattle

but definitely making use of his forked tongue to pick up our scent

yellow prince's plume

i can't say for sure what this pretty plant is

a perched california quail

 hitchhiking grasshopper on our windscreen

on and on we drove through the streets with no name (sandy dirt roads) and there it was, the thing we'd been searching for! the blunt-nosed leopard lizard. just when we'd been admitting that this was not the trip to find one, here was the perfect reptile after all. posing even!

he remained on the rock for all the photos chuck needed. then, scampering down, he ran under this bush and let me have a good look too.

he seemed to smile and i'm sure i saw a wink, and then he was gone.

thank you husband for a fantastic last three days, and thank you feather totem for helping us to see.

thank you too for coming along. i'm nearly finished with an order i've been working on so soon life will return to normal, i'm looking forward to catching up with all of you.
xo lori