Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

I had seen these wild burros in Cabeza Prieta NWR back in January. So, I was hoping maybe I would see them again on this trip, but as with the sheep and pronghorn no luck. Other than the Ranger at the visitor's center, the only person I saw was a Border Patrol Officer. When I asked him about the burros he said he hadn't seen any since being posted there in February. WOW. Okay, so on to Imperial National Wildlife Refuge which is on the Colorado River just north of Yuma and known for its healthy population of both sheep and burros. I arrived at Imperial just before dawn. Drove 20 miles into the mountains with not so much as a rabbit to photograph.( I did see a couple of Harris Antelope Squirrels.) Imperial has six or seven barren "plateaus" along the otherwise lush Colorado River. These plateaus are covered with crushed lava rock. However, you can clearly see from a distance burro paths. Over the past 150 years burros have followed the same route pushing aside the lava rock to make one-foot wide paths. As you take a closer look you see the burro tracks in the path. If you make a horseshoe out of your thumb and forefinger about two inches apart you have a perfect burro footprint. I thought that with so many tracks I was bound to find some. So I persistently followed several of the tracks -- all leading down to the river and then disappearing into the thick cattails and other plants of the jungle. Later after the Visitor's center opened I had a chance to talk with the Ranger who was reluctant to share that she had not seen any bighorn sheep in a year, and it had been a couple months since seeing any burros. And, yet, there is something about this land --- even absent of seeing sheep, pronghorn, or burros that feeds and renews the spirit within me. It's a far cry from working in downtown Manhattan.