Crown Fire - The Aftermath

The burrowing spiders survived the fire too!

I just can't get over the rocks. This is really high up on the stream bank, so you tell me, is it smoothed/rounded because of water action or because of the fire melting it?
Although, quartz usually explodes when it gets too hot. Hmmmm . . . .

We think this cow was already dead when the fire swept through. Although, any surviving predators could have scattered the bones, judging from all the ash on top of them we think it died before the fire. You may not want to look at this one if bones gross you out. This is the skull, which is mostly intact.

DH still wants to see where the bees are going to get water, so he is leading the way up creek.

DH observing the water tank for the cattle. The tank is dry, and the pipes are on the ground, some have come undone from the next pipe.
Still following the bee line to the water.

Gee, if you could lift it, wouldn't that make a great planter? LOL.
Got to find some humor in all this devastation.

As we continued along the cow path, we finally found a place where the bees had found some water. I took this with the telephoto, even though the bees were calm, I couldn't climb down the bank to get closer. The bees are clustered around a break in the pipe.

DH insists that there should be open water in that creek. He's still looking for it in this photo.

Hard to tell even from this angle, but he insists there is water, so I'm going over to where he is standing to see if I can get a photo.

DH was right! You can see my shadow too!

Water, the stuff that makes life possible. : - )

Another view as it heads downstream.

If you look past the sticks and brush, behind them you'll see what appears to be a man made rock wall along one side of the stream.

Look we found a live lizard! : - )

Better photo of lizard. He didn't seem scared of us at all.

Looking upstream, this is where I told DH I was tired and we needed to hike back to his truck.

And wouldn't you know it, the cactus in the center of this photo doesn't look scorched or burned at all. Go figure!
Maybe the circle of rocks protected it?

We'd hiked further than I thought. You can see Palmdale/Lancaster in the center, at a distance.

Used the telephoto to give you a better idea of what I was seeing.

Just over that blackened ridge is a bunch of houses. You can see them in the distance.

Fried wasp nest. I'm surprised it kept it's shape and the wax didn't melt. It must be different than beeswax. Doesn't look like they survived the fire and smoke.

You may not want to look at this photo, but I feel compelled to post it. This is a bird that did die in the fire. For some reason, it was not able to escape. No predation apparent, and all the feathers are under that coat of ash. A casualty to the fire. : - (

Finally back at the truck! But now DH wants to go downstream closer to his hives. Sigh . . .
A long drink of water revived me.

There DH goes. Do you notice the dry grass on the cow path on the left side of this photo? Why didn't that grass burn?

I can't explain it, but I think it's amazing.

DH is walking on the other side of the creek from me. He says he's looking for something in particular.

It wasn't this partially burned bush.

Looking up slope on the side of the creek away from the bees. Fire came so close to this location too. Somebody was looking out for us that day.

Still walking down that creek.

Scorched bush and boulders.

DH found what he was looking for.

Yup, we're in Indian Country, and that is a grinding stone. This is a different view of the same grinding hole. Some people call them cupules, some call them metates. I consider metates to be movable. You'd need a crane to move this boulder.

The fire came through here so fast that the tops of some of the bushes are still greenish.

I just liked this quartz boulder.

This boulder is really tall for the area. I like it's shape.

A different side of the same boulder above.

Can you see the wavy lines in the boulder. This area is right on top of the San Andreas Fault, so you can see lots of twisted rocks aka metamorphic rocks. Endlessly fascinating to me.

Another big piece of quartz buried in the ground.

My DH calls this the survivor tree. The wind over the years have shaped it, and providence or the Creator's grace allowed this tree to survive. Wow!

We've gone down the road a bit to check on the last location. This area did not burn, and I thought you'd appreciate seeing what it used to look like before it did.