I was out this afternoon seeking out some desert cold springs I spotted with the Terraserver satalite images. The rain started pouring around 3PM, of course when I was the farthest away from my vehicle. My pooches and I got pretty drenched by the time we got back to my Fordesaurus. Found one spring with two cottonwood trees, lots of big grass, and the local desert plants growing like crazy due to thier access to the water. No above ground water visible at this site but the ground was damp below the trees. At another site I found a 30 yard round area of a tall, bright green, tree or shrub ( one I've never seen before ) that was growing about 10 feet tall in places. I tried to find a way to get into this thicket and finally found what looked to be an entrance made by animals, like coyote, bobcat or even Mt lion. I crawled on my stomach into the middle, hoping not too come across a hidden cat or coyote, and did find a small pool of water about 6 feet long, by three feet wide. There were signs of cat tracks around the pool. The prints looked smaller like bobcats. The small shallow pool had cold clear water in it, being shaded by the thicket of trees. Both of these springs were way out in the hills, in the dry desert, so they look like little Oasis's. I'll have to check out the one with the small pool in the middle of summer to see if it maintains its above ground water. I'm sure its quite the local attraction for the desert animals nearby :-)
