Deserted....Lucerne Valley

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"Watch out for those Mohave Greens; there's no antidote in the region for them. They'll have to fly you out if you get bitten. But those rare Mohave Reds are even worse. You won't miss their bite."

I was walking slowly and cautiously through the landscape of Lucerne Valley. I could distinguish between 4 or 5 different plants in the area outside of the Sage and the angular Joshua Trees. One little bush was blooming white and each flower had it's own little beetle in it engorging itself nectar. This land is filled with harshness and fear where people avoid looking each other in the eye, yet no one seems to have trouble looking into the television. I've been lucky to make it this far, as the locals are damn tough, and don't pick up my type. My last two hitchhikes were with an Argentinean, and then with two Guatemalans who took me way out of their way. Looks like it is time to go South of the border. Way south.

I have arrived via previous contacts on the San Juan Islands at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary. An outpost run by a native American woman, Tonya, whose been shepherding the place for over 20 years. Apache Moon, one of her first wolves, and most charesmatic I heard, was even in Dances with Wolves. Sadly, the sands of time, and the sands of this valley have taken its toll on the sanctuary and made it quite a chaotic venture, filled with trailers, cages, a good amount of junk, 20 cats she has rescued, 17 wolves, and a number of other funny animals roaming around (their pet roadrunner for instance). I have a lot of contradictions running into me here. Hard and often ignorant people, but with some amazing hearts when it shows through. They constantly look out for me, and have never voiced a moment of doubt as to their reason to accommodate me for a few days. They must like company as much as I do, though not usually the type that prefers to shout instead of just politely asking people to come to them (we all know them =D).

Furthermore, people having little do, get so wrapped up in fear here that I almost think people let their imaginations make up fantastic and gruesome stories just to keep them in their place: wild animals everywhere, hitchhikers getting killed all the time, neighbors sabotoging each other, or the government poisoning the air purposefully (that may indeed be the case but no one here seems to be doing much about it except waiting for this Brokovich). Yet they still seem to carry on life in their little worlds as if nothing has changed.

Enough about people. I haven't spent much time with the wolves here, but I often pity them seeing them in their cages, pacing, or playing with each other. They do have loving caretakers who spend hours with them just socializing even, and were often rescued from perturbing situations, so I pray their lives are somewhat bearable in these lockers. Some of these wolves are finally shedding their arctic fur, and it's amazing they can handle these days even in the shade, though it's said this isn't even hot yet. Visitors come daily from all over, who have heard about the sanctuary, and Tonya or someone else from her family will give tours and allow people to meet the more docile of the wolves(which reminds me I need to join in on one of these tours).

Tonya has been a splendid host, even as my departure nears she is looking to set up rides with locals to get me East though that's hard to organize for a Friday morning. I am blessed though to have water, a hat, and if necessary, a bus is still an option even in these remote lands. Arizona won't be any more crowded I imagine.

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