Sinkyone Wilderness

A friend and I drove down to the Sinkyone Wilderness, about four hours from here, in Mendicino County, California, a lovely place to hike, with elk roaming about but no bears, only marauding chipmunks that chewed up part of a peach we left out on our picnic table. The herd is seen here at dusk, bedding down. After clicking on the photo to enlarge it, notice the nursery of small ears in a grouping, and then some adolescent ones in another huddle.






This is the vast view beyond the herd.













And here's a proud male, looking quite ridiculous to me, but clearly feeling powerful and bold in his leafy headdress, which he hopes will catch some strong female's eye. . .














The visitors' center there, where friends are hosts for a while this summer, is named for Needle Rock.

















Part of me likes to see nature consuming industrial remains, another part feels this poor tree must have indigestion.