Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

This remarkably friendly bird may have uttered that word, but said little else as it flew from cardon to cardon, leading us out of a pleasant tangle of desert vegetation at Puerto Gato on the east side of the Baja California Peninsula. This remarkable bird species, the largest songbird in the world, nests from above the Arctic Circle south through Central America, and remains in its nesting range year-round - even in the frozen tundra. We were enjoying our first hike in the Sonoran desert, learning about the strategies for survival of the plants and animals that manage to make a living here. The tall cardon cactus dominated this "forest", with an understory of chainlink cholla, old man cactus, galloping cactus, diminutive mammalaria species and many more plants that can withstand long periods of drought and searing temperatures. Our afternoon hike lead us back to a quiet beach where of Executive Chef and his staff had laid out a magnificent barbeque. A bonfire and sing-along followed, and capped off a great day that included encounters with blue whales, fin whales, hundreds of common dolphins and even small manta rays and a marlin. The Sea of Cortes is an unbelievably exciting place to explore.