In the last of the "Coyote Stories" we are back in Arizona. The first is from Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge near Ajo, Arizona. Cabeza Prieta is one of the "hottest" driest, "remote-est" places in the US. It sits on the US/Mexico Border running 100 miles between Yuma and the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. You have to get a permit to go into Cabeza. To get the permit you have to watch a "Warning" video and sign your life away on a two page form. Then you must sign in and out of the refuge by calling the refuge headquarters whenever you go in or come out. It is the third largest NWR in the continental US, and yet if there are 10 people there on a given day it's crowded (probably half those are illegal). They "boast" the endangered Sonoran Pronghorn. In fact, much of Cabeza is closed from mid-March to mid-July to protect the Sonoran Pronghorn as they breed. Cabeza also has a decent population of Desert Bighorn Sheep. But since the refuge is so large and only one 4x4 only road through it, the bighorns are extremely difficult to find. The road doesn't come within five miles of any of the bighorn mountain ranges so hiking is necessary. But, on to the Coyote. I was on my way out looking for the Bighorn Sheep, and perfectly willing to hike a bit to find them when I came across this stunning coyote. We looked at each other for at least a minute before I continued on my journey -- as did he.
Another refuge in Southeastern Arizona is Cibola. Cibola is not easy to get to. It lies along the Colorado river 50 miles north of Yuma but its only access is from California. It is about 20 miles south of Blythe. I was staying overnight in Yuma, and got up an hour and a half before dawn to get to Cibola by dawn. (There is also a road going north from Interstate 8 about 15 miles into California from Yuma. Then another 50 miles to the refuge). Cibola did not disappoint. Here you see a Coyote yipping away (with Sandhill Crane in the background).
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