I was in Joshua Tree this weekend with Phil, Lem, Dustin, Joe, and Tim.

It was fun. It was kinda hot, though, in the 90s. We camped at Black Rock, which is actually barely on the outskirts of the park, and you can't access any of the rest of the park from it. It doesn't have any of the rocks, but it does have nice fauna and flora. It is also a little higher than the rest of the park, so we were hoping that would moderate the temperature a bit. It's also the closest part of the park.

I learned a little more about coyotes on this trip. They were all around our campsite, I think because they can get water there. At night we would hear them singing, a burst now and again would bely their nearness. The night we arrived I saw one run by our campsite in the moonlight. I really could see its shadow better than its body, but it sped by like a hovering ghost. It looked supernatural. Later, as I stood, admiring the morning's golden radiance on the desert, a jack rabbit burst out of a nearby bush, maybe 3 or 4 feet away from me on my left, and sped thumping by, ears flat on his head. Immediately following this a coyote burst out of the bush, saw me, made a quick left turn, slowed to a lope, and disappeared behind a bush several yards away. I followed, curious to see more of the dog, but he was not to be found. This is despite me constantly watching the bush for further movement, and looking in the desert all around it. It is as if it disappeared. His craftiness really took me by surprise, but it reminded me again of the Coyote of Navajo legends.