Last night, Christmas Eve, I went to our local newspaper's web page and was dismayed to see that a bighorn sheep was hit by a motorist on Highway 74. And, even worse, it was a "hit and run". No, the driver didn't stop. Apparently other motorists who saw the sheep said it went away limping. How sad indeed. There are so few of the bighorn left and I'm pretty sure this one will end up as a meal for a mountain lion...I'll post updates as I see them. Very sad indeed. As I've said numerous times, people need to SLOW DOWN on this road. It's called "THE KILLER HIGHWAY" for a reason. Just last weekend, as I was driving back from a visit to my horses, a car full of teenagers had spun out and rolled. They all appeared okay, but dazed. There is NO cell phone service for the majority of this road and another car apparently had gone down to alert the Palm Desert fire department and I saw two ladder trucks and a paramedic ambulance heading up the hill as I was driving down...sigh...As for the desert bighorn sheep, this road goes through their natural habitat. In fact, starting in January, many of the hiking trails through these canyons will be closed to allow the sheep to have their babies. Carrizo Canyon closes January 1st and I would like to get in there and hike, but my time is running out! I always keep an eye out for bighorns, but you would be amazed at how fast and how carelessly some people drive this road!!!!
