 In all of the years I have been traveling back roads in the desert I have only seen two rattlesnakes, one in Ward Valley, and this one in Carbonate Gulch. This guy was not making a fuss, but he was ‘prepared’. He was ok with me taking his photo – I used a long telephoto, and he and I went our separate ways.
 This fellow was photographed in Ward Valley in October, 2010 – one of hundreds of tarantulas that we saw that weekend during what I suppose was a migration of sorts – they were everywhere. This guy was kind enough to pause while I took his picture.  The Desert Inn Cafe and Hotel formerly stood on Main Street in Ludlow, California facing the railroad tracks that were on the opposite side of the street. The owner of the hotel, Yim Lee immigrated to Ludlow from China and is the man on the second story balcony wearing the dark pants. His wife Gin Shee Yim is on the far left. The man with his hands on his hips is not identified. The children standing in front are Frank Lee on the left and Marjorie Lee on the right. Marjorie was born in 1947 so this photo was probably taken about 1950. Lee Yim, Gin Shee Yim and their children lived in Ludlow from about 1914 to 1960 and were a highly respected family. The Pool Hall next door to the Desert Inn was originally a Cafe and barber shop. Unfortunately, none of these buildings remain today.  The Old Woman Mountains were named by the Piute and Chemehuevi Indians who called the mountains “No-mop-wits” which means “old woman”. The name comes from a granite outcrop on a ridge in the southern part of the mountains that resembles the profile of a veiled old woman making her way up the ridge. The rock outcrop is not definitive when viewed from the north, but is conspicuous when viewed from the south, near Colton Wash in the southern part of the range – Joe de Kehoe photo.
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