It seems like summer will never end, and the weather will never change. Even now, we should be getting the summer thunderstorms in the mountains and high deserts, but we have had none. Just day after day of sunshine. A couple of weeks ago, some clouds moved in over the San Bernardino mountains while I was up there riding, but no storm came of that either. So, yesterday, it was no surprise that the high desert had blue bird skies and gusty breezes. The only thing unusual about the weather up there was that the temperatures are not triple digit. The lack of any precipitation caused the yellow jackets to gather around me when I stopped to take photos. They become attracted to the smell of shampoo lingering in hair, and the faint traces of sweat, and they are thirsty, looking for water. They aren't going to find any on a rider, but they don't know that. Any way, they will land on you, and if you accidentally pinch or put any pressure on one of them, you will get stung. I didn't stop for very long in any one place, unless there was a strong breeze blowing because of the little pests. And insects weren't the only signs of life I saw out there. It was critter day in the high desert. I saw a hawk, a buzzard, a couple of jack rabbits, a mule deer and one scrawny coyote. The coyote was resting under some shady brush along one of the trails He was momentarily startled when I came around the turn, and he jumped to his feet. I called out to him and he just stood there and watched as I rode past him. This is not the usual behavior of a coyote, as they usually run, but maybe he was sick or injured. At any rate, it wasn't the first time a coyote has reacted this way when I rode by on a dirt bike. About 30 years ago, I had a trailside coyote respond the same way. Other than enjoying the local wildlife, I spent the afternoon squirreling around on a lot of the singletrack that the area has to offer. I didn't have a specific route in mind. Instead, I just revisited old trails that I hadn't been on for a while, and explored a few new ones that looked like they needed to be checked out. I had started my ride around 3 in the afternoon, so it was getting sort of late, with shadows lengthening by the time I made it back to the staging area. A quick stop at Grand Ole BBQ was on the "to do" list, so I could pick up a pound of smoked brisket, on my drive home.
