Thanks to the efforts of the Ranger (Thanks Chris!) and knowledgable docents at MTRP, we had a great trip, where we learned a lot about indigenous uses of the land, natural history, and edible plants and animals of the chaparral. No time for a longer post, but some pictures of the event are below.

we started here

everyone loaded up

we forgot sustenance

artifacts

nicely laid out and thoroughly explained

docent talk

a bit warm, but worth it!

docent talk

note everyone is still engaged in the talk

lola

ok, almost everyone was engaged

Gray Hairstreak Butterfly

Strymon melinus pudica

lichens

sign at dam

see where it has been edited?

the dam

and the effects of a lengthy drought

model dam

opuntia

but I see "nopales"

group picture

only 1/4 of the group, as we all took different paths

ponded water

desire the drought, some areas of the upper river still hold water, and this was filled with crayfish, tadpoles, and dragonfly larvae, as well as small fishes.

dragonfly

looking angry

tarantula hawk

we saw a *very* friendly tarantula hawk. Some seemed to feel she was too friendly.