Coyote's Journey LbNA #27951

Begin at the trailhead at the end of Glen Drive in Fairfax. From there, follow the clues that trace Coyote's Journey.

Coyote was in a mood. Perhaps it began when he realized he was not being given proper credit for having created the first person. Perhaps it began when he ran into Rabbit, who had convinced Coyote that he had to prevent the sky from falling by holding up a big rock. Coyote vowed never to let Rabbit trick him again.

He sat on a small hill above the main path, watching people walk past as they stared intently at electronic devices. They did not notice him. “In my day,” he thought, “nobody needed an instrument to tell them where they were. We all knew we were right here.”

Coyote came down the hill and sauntered up the wide trail, lined by trees. The path took him down, past a small runoff, where it split into two different directions. Coyote saw Crow sitting in a small tree, just to the left. “Hey, Coyote!” called Crow, “I heard Hawker was in town selling a magical potion made up of Coyote Fat to keep away the ants. Can you really keep them away?” “Great,” thought Coyote, “Everyone wants a part of me. Even if it belongs to another story. Sometimes I regret having started this whole thing.”

Coyote sat at the crossroads for a moment and headed left through a grove of trees. The trail took him down a ravine and back up again. As he left the grove, he saw Crow again, this time sitting on a small section of fence. “Hey, Coyote, what should I tell Hawker?”

Coyote did not answer, but shook his head at the wooden fence. It was clearly not designed to keep Coyote out. Or anybody else, for that matter. He went down the trail to his left and saw a bridge ahead. That meant civilization. Coyote had enough of that and took off up the hill before he came to the bridge, taking a small path past two old fence posts. The first post was on his right. The second post was on his left.

He followed the trail as it headed along a wide ledge to the left. It had once been a road, but now the path was relatively narrow. He continued on until he saw Rabbit sitting on a rock, just before the old road went downhill. “You tricked me!,” said Coyote. “I should eat you for that.” “Not me,” replied Rabbit. “It must have been my Uncle. Let me go get him. I am sure you guys can work it out.” Rabbit quickly disappeared from sight, taking another path that went up the hill to the left.

Coyote waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, he decided to follow Rabbit.. He took the path up the hill and looked across the way at a brown object with writing on it. Coyote thought about going there and dazzling the world with his art, yet again. "After all," he thought, "is there anyone who can compare?" But then everyone would know he had been there and Hawker would surely find him.

At the top of the hill, Coyote stopped. The ants scurried away. He looked down at the houses and the road, and wondered about all the changes he had seen in the world. He howled at the moon.

The path led down, but Coyote thought that he had gone far enough. Just ahead and to the right, he noticed a group of bushes that formed a small clearing. “A place of power.” He thought that he would be protected by the magical powers of the sagebrush and sat down in the clearing to contemplate his situation. What should he do about Hawker? The more Coyote contemplated, the more he fasted, and became thinner and thinner until there was not an ounce of fat to spare. “That should do the trick,” he thought, and sauntered away.

Some say that if you go to the spot where Coyote fasted, perhaps you will see something. Then again, you may only hear an echo of Coyote, howling at the moon. In any event, you will never see a fat Coyote.