close encounters

i marked the beginning of 2010 while camping in death valley. a better way to begin the new year i could not have asked for. the weather was good, even though we had one chilly, overcast day. didn't matter. much in the way of atv noises, both from a neighboring dune system (where they're allowed), and closer to us (where they're illegal.) didn't matter. i returned feeling drained of any and all tension, with a clarity of purpose and vision befitting starting a new year.
and we had a visitor.

(not my photo-found on the web.)

this one showed up at midnight on new year's eve. guess she was looking for a party to crash. she found one in my food box. there is evidence to support a theft of fudge by friend fox. a rather brazen one, it took the throwing of a rock to finally convince her that the party she was looking for was elsewhere. good fox medicine for the next year.
and for the first time in years, i was awake when the new year rolled in!

then there were these folks.

fortunately, these weren't too near our campsite. we did spot some about a mile away, big ones. not a cat you want to keep in the house-or tent.

and we saw several groups of these..

i am in total accordance with the urge to go barefoot in the sand. but geez, look, ROCKS here-and a lot of them! (there's a rock post coming, by the way.) if we hadn't seen more than one set, i would have thought it a prank.

there were also bird and snake prints galore. i couldn't get a decent shot of either of those. the light was not forgiving of a rookie photographer.

there's more to be said about this trip (rock post!). there are more photos to put up, more thoughts to be shared. for now-
happy new year, all.
set your intentions, and act accordingly!