Coyote Encounter

We spent the morning in the valley, visiting the Devil's Golf Course and the Salt Badlands.  Both fascinating places.  On our return trip we took in the Artist's Palette drive which was gorgeous and then came across this Coyote.  We saw two cars pulled over and I spotted it and yelled "pull over." My husband (the city boy) thought someone was just letting their dog have a run but I insisted and jumped out of the car to get some shots.  One of the other cars had put out some water for the Coyote (as there isn't much water to be found in Death Valley).  The Coyote had a drink and then wandered around a bit allowing me to get shots from various angles.  My husband was quite nervous and kept urging me to get back in the car, but I knew the coyote was more nervous than I was and started to run away whenever anyone moved, so felt quite safe at a comfortable distance and at 600 mm. 

Later I posted some of my pictures on Facebook, and one of my husband's cousins said that they had come across a coyote in almost the same spot several weeks earlier and posted a picture.  While it is hard to tell for certain if it is the same critter, they look very similar.  Perhaps this wiley coyote has figured out that posing for tourists has its payoffs.  There are a few more shots in the extras. 

After lunch and a brief rest, we headed 30 miles south to Stovepipe Wells to watch the sunset over the Mesquite Sand Dunes.  There were not any really good photo opportunities there as the dunes were covered in footprints.  Could have used a good wind the night before.  Also, I would have sold my soul for a few clouds in this big sky. 

Backblipped 11-7-2019