I ventured into less traveled territory. It almost seemed prehistoric. The quiet was loud as I walked, just me and the dogs. I chose a fork of a dry creek that I had not traveled since spring. Overgrown and not dry, it was cooler in the depths of the wash.
The dogs enjoyed the hidden pools. They cooled as they adventured. The dry creek held pockets of water from the last rain. In the ravine, you would not know the land is dry. There were many signs that wildlife came to drink here.
...a small armadillo skull on a mossy rock
and more crooks and crannies to explore.
The boys loved the adventure.
We must have startled a deer. In front of my properly attired feet is a very fresh deer print.
The journey was a success and although the way was overgrown, we met no snakes nor saw any danger. The briars tugged at us, the dogs and me, but we pushed on in the coolness of the earth and the quiet of the land.
We reentered the land of sun and heat and insects and wondered why we had left the coolness of the creek.