It used to be in the middle of nowhere. Now we live here.

In the early 1950s, Reche Canyon was covered with rattlesnakes and little else. That's why Ralph Bush from Wyoming says he picked the land north of what is now Moreno Valley CA to release a herd of burros he had roped north of Death Valley.

Bush and family members said he took 22 burros to Reche Canyon and released them into the rocky, unpopulated area. The rest is local animal history lol...

About 50 years later, wild donkeys have become as much a part of Reche Canyon as the shrubs and trees that dot the face of the hills. When we moved here last year, they became a part of our lives.

These pictures I took are very difficult to obtain. The canyon road twists and turns, and there are not many pull-over spots to take pictures of them. Plus, they move around a lot, so it's hard to track them in this large canyon located about 65 miles east of Los Angeles.

We also have owls, coyotes, raccoons, rabbits, and those snakes. But we love the country living, surrounded by a megalopolis of over 27 million people.

The one scary part is the rare, but deadly crashes with cars. Several people in the Canyon have been killed and injured in the collisions, usually late at night...

All Photos by Al Mealey