Explorations of the Wild and the Human Spirit

Journey into a collection of essays, reflections, and field observations that seek to uncover the deeper truths hidden within the desert and ourselves.

These writings weave together natural history, survival wisdom, philosophy, and personal experience — offering a window into The Way of Things.

Tracking: A Blueprint for Learning How

Jack Kearney This book seems to have as accurate a title as a book ever could. When I first read this book, I thought I was pretty good at tracking, but after reading this I began to use the book’s lesson plan to learn a lot more. While this book

Read More »

How to Choose Binoculars

Alan R. Hale This book could be a very important book for somebody who wants to learn the ways the desert. While it talks about technical issues concerning binoculars, this is a subject that is truly valuable to someone who wants learn the ways of the desert. A Good set

Read More »

A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America

James Halfpenny This work is certainly meets the definition of a field guide; however, it is much more than that. The book is truly a scientific thesis on the art of tracking and covers a wide range of related subjects such as anatomy and scatology. This is the only field

Read More »

Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans

Jim Hamm “BOW AND ARROWS OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS” is a window into the technology of the Native Americans. While this book was intended to guide one in making a bow, it is worth reading whether you’re into archery or not. It also covers such topics as history and tradition

Read More »

Bows on the little Delta

Glenn St. Charles This book is well worth reading if you’re interested in archery but it is is much more than that. It could be viewed as a time capsule or history book of the environmental movement. At a time when the industrial age was providing the common man with

Read More »

The Harmless People

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas This book is the unique in-depth view of the inner workings of a Hunter gather society that is essentially still intact. While the African Bushmen of the late 1950s had already been in contact with modern humans for some time, modern influence was at a minimum. They

Read More »

Rock Landscape

When you walk the desert alone and in silence you can truly enjoy the beauty and the mystery of it all.

Read More »

Rock Solid

Sometimes you can be on a rock solid foundation and at the same time you are on the ragged edge.

Read More »

Root Chamber

This is another petroglyph that I believe to be a water hemlock. I believe this is a drawing or picture of its underground root or bulb that contains the most concentrated poison in the vertical root chambers, but such things we will never know for sure.

Read More »

Shape Shift

When this water hole is full it can be 7 or 8 feet deep and last for months. In this picture the sheep are drinking the last of the water and they will have to find water somewhere else to survive the summer. I wrote an article on this place

Read More »

Scrap Lumber

Back in the day this is what you would call scrap lumber, it wasn’t worth dragging out of the forest.

Read More »

Running Ram

A fantastic shot on a running ram I wrote an entire article on this glyph that you’ll find on the website the title is The Moment.

Read More »