It’s been awhile since I did a Wednesday Walk, but that’s what this is. I REALLY miss that 
This is a clever trick to show what time we were out walking with out ever having mentioned sunup.
The ‘shimmer’ in the background that looks like water is actually a fairly large Solar project that is a collaboration between the power company, the state and the county. At sunup the panels are mostly in the ‘neutral’ position (horizontal) and finish moving to face directly west just AFTER the sun is up. It’s done that way to maximize the usable power that’s stored in the batteries when they leave just enough to move them to the sun and let the ‘new day’ power finish the move. They move slowly and in blocks so you can’t really see them move but you can certainly see the differences as they do.
We hadn’t gone far when I saw this feather lying in the trail/road. It’s certainly a vulture primary and it had landed there very recently. I know it’s a vulture feather because we don’t have turkeys and eagles are seasonal in the winter. Vultures clean the desert of the organic debris that is part of the circle of life.
Believe it or not, this is just about the end of possibly the most main street in my area. Fortuna Ave. It’s named for the Fortuna mine which operated south and east of here until WWII. The area I live in is known as ‘Fortuna Foothills’. The original ‘El Camino Del Diablo’ runs into the area just north of this photo. That was the original trail that led to Southern California (the only ford of the lower Colorado river is at Yuma) and was named because of the high percentage of travellers that didn’t make it. It runs about 60 miles and is very dry. A tough crossing.
It really wouldn’t be a #wednesdaywalk without a picture of Sam, would it? This was taken after I had covered a couple of miles and both of us were feeling pretty used up in the 90+F (33C) temps. He dug a couple of holes, did some running, checked out a LOT of territory and was just about ready to get in the nearby car.
So that’s it, a Wednesday Walk with or without sanction. I wish Jay would come back soon, I REALLY miss his great photographs and loving spirit.
All words and photographs in this post are mine. For better or worse.
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