RODENTS

Okay, so here's a bit of life on the road that people might not think about. Rodents. A few weeks back, when we were at the campground at Organ Pipe National Monument, it became increasingly common to see RVs and their tow cars, or trucks with trailers, with the hood up - as if it were broken down. I asked Darell about it, and he (because he hangs out all the time on RV forums, and knows this stuff) said that it's because when the hoods are down, rodents like to climb up in them and chew whatever they can up there (it's cozy, if you're a rat, I guess). By the end of our stay there, almost every vehicle had its hood up. Here at Las Cienegas, we get to see the tracks of so many different kinds of wildlife, and of late, we've noticed what looks like small tracks and a swoop of a narrow tail. Rodents. Yesterday, there were some of these tracks around our camp table and chairs. Today, when we came back from driving some backroads in the jeep, there was a dead Kangaroo Rat (they a bit cuter than regular rats!) right near the back door of the RV. Between this and the bullet holes on informational map boards in this area, spent gun shells strewn about, and seeing armed fellow campers (Arizona is an open carry state), we're thinking about moving on. The weather's nice, though!