Buffalo statue near the pier at Avalon on Catalina Island which is off the coast of Southern California. Herds of Buffalo roam free on the island. Many years ago my best friend and I hiked the interior of the island. A large herd of Buffalo blocked our way to the camp site where we had registered to spend the night. We ended up getting terribly lost and a search party was sent out very late that night when rangers discovered we hadn't checked into the camp. We were found a little after midnight quite some distance from the camp. Because much of the island was on alert, a lot of people at the campsite were still up. When the ranger dropped us off at the camp there was a loud cheer and several people came up to us to see if we needed food or water. It was such an embarrassing situation. The next afternoon the same ranger saw us on the road back to Avalon. He got out of his truck and asked us to come take a look at something he had made for us that morning. It was a freshly painted 7ft sign with Black Jack Camp written on it. The ranger said he figured out why we got lost. The herd of buffalo were much taller at the shoulders than the tiny sign they had posted for Black Jack Camp. He dedicated it on the back to us. :-) Jodi-

Bev...... will those come back next year? Jodi...he looks well fed! ;0) Ronf.....that's just beautiful! Lynn_D.....cartography. ;0) He flew off when I got out of the car. He's not used to people.

Vetaal, I meant to add that your picture could use a caption, as one of them appears to be speaking. What are they? Some kind of deer I don't recognize, I guess. Those racks are something to behold!

The "Big Tree". The largest Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana) in the world, near Fort Bayard. If I remember correctly it's 72 feet tall. Ron