Tourists return to Saddle Pass, like the swallows to Capistrano!

You know, this residency has been very unusual for me, in terms of meeting park visitors. I see them driving by, or pausing to take photos, but there are few conversations. For example: as I was preparing my supplies this afternoon at the Saddle Pass trailhead, a car drove up next to me, and the passenger window rolled down. The young woman held up her camera and said nothing. She took a photo of the overlit formations. Hi! I said to the woman inside. Her husband clicked the door lock button, she said nothing, rolled up her window, and they drove away to take the next photo. It was a bit demoralizing. But later, while sketching up on the horn of the Saddle, I met an amusing fellow from Toronto, who stopped to joke about how hard he’d been breathing on the hike up, and we talked about road trips. When I finally hiked down, I met more folks: the Euro guy in blue (left, photo above), and these three hikers from New Hampshire (right, photo above). They were all very interesting and we had a real conversation. It really must be spring! Tourists getting out of their cars, sage brush and grass greening out, and the best news of all: SPRING PEEPERS ARE SINGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, not many of them, but there are a few, and they’re peeping!