Box Canyon Chipmunks

The feud between two brothers is a story that has continually echoed throughout history: Cain vs Abel, Romulus vs Remus, King Richard vs Prince John, Thor vs Loki, Prince Harry vs Prince William, and, of course, Peyton vs Eli Manning. There is one rivalry, however, that has formed something great—greater even than the hatred between the brothers. Having seen Russell, Otis, and their canyon in person, I simply had to tell their story, "The Fable of the Box Canyon Chipmunks." 

Many thousands of years before Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo set foot on the California Coast, huge and majestic mountains filled the land around the Salton Sea. The weather was tempestuous here, so the land was largely uninhabited. The mountain foliage, however, provided a home for several scurries of chipmunks. At the base of one of the mountains was a large tree and dwelling there inside was a rather malnourished scurry of chipmunks. The winds from the Salton Sea had changed in the recent years and food was becoming scarce.

There were two brothers in the scurry, named Russell and Otis. Russell was wiser than his younger brother Otis. He foraged to feed the plenty, not only himself as Otis did. Russell was contented with little while Otis was dissatisfied even with much. It was not long until the food scarcity caused animosity between the brothers. Otis was becoming more and more frustrated with how the food was being divided among the scurry, leaving him with only a mere morsel.

One day, he approached his brother, loudly complaining about his hunger, claiming that he deserved all that he had foraged for himself. Russell, knowing his brother well, knew that he could not dissuade his brother's selfishness and decided to teach Otis a lesson. He told Otis that he could keep all that he foraged for himself, but that he would not receive his share from what the rest of the scurry foraged. Otis agreed to this deal, not believing his good luck.

The next morning, when the chipmunks gathered, Russell sent Otis to the eastern trees where he knew that he would not find food. When the chipmunks returned in the evening to divide the food and eat, Otis returned empty handed. This continued for several days and Otis's strength and resolution started to fade. On the fifth day, Russell approached his brother to tell him the truth and invite him to forage with the scurry again. When Otis heard the truth, he was far from apologetic. He flew into a rage and moved to attack his brother. Russell ran. And ran. And kept running.

As the foliage diminished on the great mountains, many of the scurries left the area around the Salton Sea. Russell, however, stayed, because he knew the land very well and could better evade his faster brother. Over several centuries the chipmunk brothers began wearing down the great mountains. Although the members of their scurry had long passed, each brother was fueled to live and to run—

Otis by his hate and Russell by his fear. Eventually, the paths that the brothers had run eroded the great mountains into a beautiful canyon. Now, we can drive through the home of the feuding chipmunks, just off the I-10 on Box Canyon Drive. And if you're lucky, you might see Russell dash across the road in front of you and you just might see his brother, Otis run across as well, forever holding the old grudge.

Check out my YouTube Channel! This Tuesday, I posted a new One Minute Cover of Layla and Why Georgia.