After one last camp breakfast and a pot of tea, I take down the tent while enjoying the Cima Dome joshua tree forest

I take the morning slowly, wanting to prolong it because it's my last until my next trip here. While packing up, a hummingbird buzzes by, stops to check out my bike, then hovers in front of my face for a moment comes before zooming away.

Yes, that tent pole is bent, the result of a wind storm while camping at Mojave National Preserve's Butcher Knife Canyon last year.