6 posts tagged “desert”
The Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) is a horned lizard native to western North America. They typically range in size from 3 - 5in (7.6 - 13.6cm). They are sometimes referred to as "Horned Toads" or "Horny Toads", although they are not toads.
This species of lizard has a distinctive flat-body with one row of fringed scales down the sides. They have one row of slightly enlarged scales on each side of the throat. Colors can vary and generally blend in with the color of the surrounding soil, but they usually have a beige, tan, or reddish dorsum with contrasting, wavy blotches of darker color. They have two dark blotches on the neck that are very prominent and are bordered posteriorly by a light white or gray color. They also have pointed scales on the dorsum (back) of the body. Juveniles are similar to adults, but have shorter and less-pronounced cranial spines. Desert Horned Lizards have horns that are longer than they are wide at the base, which isn't true for their congener, the Short-horned Lizard.
Desert horned lizards prey primarily on ants, but are also known to prey on other slow-moving insects such as beetles, as well as spiders and some plant material. They can often be found in the vicinity of ant hills, where they sit and wait for ants to pass by. When they find an area of soft sand, they usually shake themselves vigorously, throwing sand over their backs and leaving only their head exposed. This allows them to hide from predators and await their unsuspecting prey.
They can usually be found in arid regions that have at least some loose soil available for burrowing, usually areas with sandy soils and limited vegetation such as sagebrush or shadscale. Still, they can also be found in areas with hardpan and gravelly soils as well. They typically range from southern Idaho in the north to northern Mexico in the south.
These lizards mate in the spring and lay 2-16 eggs in June to July, which hatch sometime in August. Incubation lasts about 50-60 days. Individuals reach maturity in about 22 months.
They are generally a gentle species, but have been known to try to push their crainial spines into the hand while held. If provoked, they hiss and threaten to bite. When excited, they puff themselves up with air, similar to the way a Chuckwalla does, making themselves look bigger. If spotted near a bush, they will dash into it in an attempt to find cover from any threat. If threatened, they have been known to squirt blood from their eyes as far as 5ft.[1]
There are considered to be two subspecies: the Northern Desert horned lizard, Phrynosoma platyrhinos platyrhinos, ranging in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada and parts of southeastern Oregon; and the Southern Desert horned lizard, Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum, ranging in southern Utah and Nevada to southeast California, western Arizona, and northern Baja California. - Wikipedia
Recently, I happened upon this place while surfing the interweb. I first learned of it through Jon Krakauer's Into the WIld. The tragic hero Alex McCandless ventures onto this place for several months during his trek to Alaska. Slab City is an former WWII era army training base that now exists only of a series of concrete slabs. Slab City is mostly a community of retirees, vagabonds and people with an anti-government (libertarian) bend who park their RVs and busses here during the winter months. Rent is free, there is no electricity (limited solar and generators), and no running water except for the community shower which utilizes the local hot spring.
The largest demographic of slab city is senior citizens, old folks that couldn't, wouldn't and can't fit the mold of the typical retiree. Many of the women here are single and according to the New York times :
"The majority of the society is women. They come to the Slabs because it is free and close to Mexico, where liquor and prescription medicine can be bought cheap. They are educated, savvy about life and competent mechanics."
However, as interesting as this alternative community is and as cuddly as senior citizens are, it does in fact have a dark side.
Again, the NYT :
The north side of Main Street is Poverty Flats. The south side, the suburbs, where the relatively well-to-do motorhomies have their dinner dances and clubhouse trailers.
Cole Robertson lives in the Flats
with his wife, Mabel. Mr. Robertson, 72, is a retired construction
worker from East Texas who cuts an intimidating figure, sitting
shirtless, with one rheumy eye, a watermelon physique and a cotton
fields vocabulary. An argument with a neighbor last year ended with one
of the Robertsons' trailers in flames. That is how law is dispensed in
the Flats, vigilante style. One man was dragged to death a few years
ago, another shot in the kneecap last year. Occasionally, the deputies
do come around, usually in the day to exercise a warrant or to remove
children who have not been seen in school for months. But normally,
justice comes at the end of a matchstick in the Flats.
It's not all sex, drugs, dragging deaths and arson though. Pictured below is Salvation Mountain. It was started in the 1980's by Leonard Knight. Salvation Mountain is just a stones throw away from the Slab and is embraced by the residents . This is a plaster and tempera paint encrusted mountain totalling over three stories in height, which proclaims god's love for mankind. Knight says that every California paint company has donated paint to this project, although he doe not accept any other type of donation. Senator Barbara Boxer entered this a National Treasure into the congressional record, so hopefully it won't be going away anytime soon. If anyone has been here or has an aquaintance that has give me a shout.
Sources: Wikipedia
NYT
Saltonseadoc.com
