Mojave Nipples

I'm sure you have, on occasion, noticed the astonishing variation in nipples. These two, in Mojave National Preserve, caught my eye.




Symetrical

Asymmetrical

Mojave National Preserve

Mojave National Preserve was created in 1994. Prior to that it was under BLM's purview. Cattle still run, skip and trot, hunting is allowed. There DOES seem to be less target-practice than in other places. And the  fly-over traffic noise is less than around Barstow. It's a nice place. The first three photos were taken near the Hole-In-The-Wall Information Center. The Joshua Tree was along the road to Goffs.

There are a surprising number of opportunities for dispersed (free) camping.

And of those I visited, all were relatively untrammeled...another indication the place offers some real solitude.

I had the EXTRAORDINARILY good fortune to visit the Preserve Headquarters in Barstow the day Dora was on duty. Dora leads tours, works with many of the other professionals who manage the preserve, and has an immense amount of knowledge. She kindly spent the better part of an hour, even BEYOND closing-time, telling me of places to see...and sandy roads to avoid.

I overheard a Ranger tell another visitor Joshua Trees may be 1,500 years old.

Joshua Tree "Blossom"

Mitchell Caverns State Park

 Mitchell Caverns State Park, inside the Mojave National Preserve, was the only California park that was closed after

extensive deliberations over budget cutbacks.


The California State Parks system has a reputation to maintain -- as one of the state's most inefficient bureaucracies.

The Blair Ranch STILL uses this to graze cattle!!

So when the park closed, officials simply locked the gate. The cost of re-opening --sometime this summer -- is estimated at over $450,000.00. They didn't drain the water lines and, of course, the pipes burst. In addition, vandals and animals caused further damage.

Beavertail Cactus

Grazing is allowed in the Preserve which borders the State Park. There's a fence surrounding the Park - with a broken gate that allows easy entry to cattle - but it's obvious that the land on the Park side is in better condition, plant-wise, than the grazed side. It makes me angry that even now, decades after the initial devastation by cattle, the depredation continues. And if you Google depredation (this link is about the payouts -- yours & my tax monies) what you get is all about wildlife....nothing about the damage perpetrated by cattle, sheep and their human exploiters.