Desert camping is different from regular camping in terms of: the lack of shade (though the temperature was moderate this weekend), the lack of regular trees from which you can get branches to use for roasting marshmallows, and the presence of killer bees, huge red ants, and camouflaging lizards, and woodrats. Also quails (that can fly, apparently).
"So, Nacho, remember: don't run if you see a coyote."
"Why not? Road Runner runs when it sees Wile E. Coyote."
"Kuya," says his Ninong Jomar, "if you see a coyote and it's carrying an Acme dynamite, then, yes, you can go ahead and run."
We laugh at Nacho until I ask: "And what kind of animal is Road Runner? An ostrich?"
The sound of howling coyotes at 4:30 a.m. is terrifying and awesome at the same time.
So, yes, other than the above mentioned animals, there also were coyotes and roadrunners (which are not ostriches).
Our campsite neighbors were musicians. They had guitars and a double bass. A double bass! In the desert! On our first night, we listened to live music. It was part rock and roll, part folk, part mariachi. They played an entire set, while we sat around our campfire, drinking cold beers/hot coffee. It brought a whole new level of enjoyment to roughing it in the outdoors! (Our luck with camping neighbors have really turned around since our last trip!)
Huge rocks and rock formations are ideal for climbing on and exploring in (the children and Brian certainly thought so), and are made even more interesting by the fact that these can also take on the shape of skulls, dinosaur heads, armadillos, and Baby Bears.
The kids were fantastic hikers. Even Olivia, who invented "tandem" hiking (i.e. she was carried, haha).
We had an amazing time! (I took more than 600 photos! 10% of them are here.)
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