/Users/williampawek/Desktop/07.04.11 Red Rock Cyn SP - 18.jpg
After climbing over wind-swept Tehachapi Pass at 3800', we dropped down to the equally windy Mojave Basin. A few miles up SR14 brought us to Red Rock Cyn SP and Ricardo CG at 2900' and 63°F, about 265 miles. The desert floor was dry as a bone, conditions in which most people would say, "There are no wildflowers; it's too dry." Of course Jean found many—such as this Morman Tea, a member of the Horsetail family or Ephedra. From this genus, ephedrine is made which is used for asthma and to constrict certain blood vessels. The Jack just happened to hop in the way of my 420 mm lens near sunset.
That night at about 9:30 pm, we heard a small tap at the door, which turned out to be a very apologetic young man named John. It seems, he, his wife, and two young daughters were literally out in the cold. Their tent had blown apart in the strong wind and their car battery went dead as they used the headlights to try to save the tent. We went up with our jump cables, helped him start his car and sent him on his way to China Lake/Ridgecrest to find a motel—and we have "thank you" drawings from the little girls to prove it.
