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Somewhere in Arizona along a generally forgotten stretch of old Route 66 is a cluster of buildings barely stitched together by a post office, restaurant, and a hotel to form the tiny town of Oatman.

Founded in 1906, Oatman was once a bustling community of 3,500 hardy and fool-hardy souls that ultimately extracted nearly two million ounces of gold from the nearby hills. At the current price of gold, that’s about $3.4 billion dollars in today’s market.

But like all good things, the gold ran out a few decades later, mining stopped in 1947, and the town was largely abandoned in the 1950s after the new Interstate-40 highway bypassed the town entirely in 1953. Left behind were a few locals and the burros, which were unleashed into the wild after no longer needed to pack the miner’s supplies.

Today, descendants of both the original locals and burros roam the streets extracting bounty from the tourists who travel through on Route 66 or drive up from Lake Havasu for a visit.

“Jeep Stacking” is the art and style of driving the front tires of your highly-modified and appropriately equipped 4-wheel drive Jeep up the perimeter of and ultimately resting atop another Jeep’s tire.

True aficionados and masters of the sport of Jeep Stacking will daisy-chain stack their vehicles alongside each other, creating a memorable, yet fleeting automotive sculpture. Not withstanding, also creating a comfortable place to lean back with friends and enjoy the sunshine.

This beautiful Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) calls the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens in the Coachella Valley home.

Oryx leucoryx were originally found in Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Sinai, and the Arabian Peninsula and are well suited for the hot arid summers of their adopted home near Palm Springs.

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens has just been authorized to reopen by the State of California with specific COVID-19 precautions and advance reservations/ticket sales only to the public on Monday, June 15, 2020.

Happy birthday to Frank Lloyd Wright, born on June 8, 1867.  Taliesin West drafting studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, taken on a visit in April 2018.

Another closeup of Ron Brown’s Keystone Coupe 1933 Ford Speed 33. The automobile underwent a total transformation under the hands of Chip Foose Design and his talented team of collaborators.

Emma Wood State Beach is located along Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Barbara and Ventura. The area is a favorite destination for swimming, surfing and fishing. Catches include perch, bass, cabezon and corbina.

We’re looking north towards Dulah, Solimar Beach, Mondo’s Beach, and Faria Beach.

The park is named for Emma Grubb Wood, who owned the land at the time of her death in 1944. Her surviving husband, Adrian “Buddy” Wood, donated the land to the State of California in 1956 in her memory.

Originally the beach was part of the 8,877 acre (35.92 km2) Mexican land grant, Cañada de San Miguelito, given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Ramón Rodríguez. It later became part of the 30,000 acre Taylor Ranch controlled by the Grubb family. Emma gained control of the Taylor Ranch with her brother in 1936.

The endangered African wild dog live in packs of 20 or more, and were once found across the African continent, including desert and mountain Habitats, but have disappeared from most of their historic ranges due to loss of habitat and threats from humans.

African wild dogs are formidable hunters, preying on antelopes, but will supplement diets with birds and smaller animals. Livestock damage does occur, but is rare.

These pups were just five months old when photographed in September, 2019.

The bird has a role in the Zuni universe.

Traveling freely above the earth, migrating over vast distances and occupying terrestrial habitats, the Zuni bird makes it a powerful symbol of freedom and a link to the divine or supernatural realms.

More than a decade before Porsche manufactured the $57K+ 930, a working-man’s version was built by Chevrolet for under $3 grand fully equipped.  

Jay’s fire-engine red (I’m sure there’s an official name for this color) 1965-’66 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa Turbo pushes it’s 2,500-lb. curb weight around town by an air-cooled 164-C.I. flat-six turbo engine twisting out 180 horsepower. Fewer than 10,000 Corsas were built with a turbo over the two year run.

What a treat to see it and photograph it up-close during Larry Chen’s workshop at Jay Leno’s Garage last June.