Lizards on the road!

The lizards are taking a road trip. It's the first one for Verde, Lizard's new sidekick. Here they are hanging out on the Pismo Beach pier. They were a little apprehensive at this venue, since it's quite a long way down to the water and they are not aquatic.

This is more like it! My reptilian friends are back in the desert, which of course is their natural habitat. In this case we're hanging out in Mojave National Preserve, about 75 miles SW of Las Vegas. This spot is near Cima Dome, about 12 miles S of I-15. This is one of the largest and densest Joshua Tree forests in the world...I thought it was even more spectacular than the national park! I'd never been here before, and it's beautiful and peaceful. I shared the trail with several dozen equestrians who passed by, all very friendly and enthusiastic about the beauty of both the desert and the day (crystal clear, mid 50s). They were on a 50 mile ride. I'm thinking sore butt. That aside, it was indeed a fine afternoon.

The Mojave National Preserve is wild country, outside of the I-15 corridor. The freeway was packed with traffic roaring frantically toward Las Vegas...it's early in a 3 day weekend, and throngs of holidaymakers were racing toward the gambler's nirvana in the desert. At one point I was cruising at 80 in the Solara and being passed by EVERYONE. I guess they couldn't wait to get to the slots and the blackjack tables and the showgirls. At any rate, all you have to do is go a couple of miles off the freeway and it's quiet and virtually deserted. And the spaces are wiiide open.