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Story and Photos by Pat Krause

The Chuckwalla Monument has now become official. President Biden signed the document in Washington, D.C., and was scheduled to visit the Coachella Valley to announce the monument and sign the papers there. However, due to high winds, the event was canceled at the last minute, much to the disappointment of many media members and guests. Roadblocks impeded traffic for a long time until the cancellation was announced. Ultimately, we took photos of empty chairs and a dismantled podium.

I spent most of Monday exchanging emails with Raul Ruiz and the Washington, D.C. offices, seeking to secure a media pass for myself and my friend Richard Gutierrez Jr. from El Informador Del Valle newspaper. After a long wait, I finally received confirmation late that day. At 10:30 pm, I received a call from Washington, D.C., informing me that the event's start time had been moved up by an hour, and I was required to arrive by 6 am—a challenging request given that it was an hour away. My friend called to let me know he was picking me up at 5 am.

We arrived at 6 a.m. and underwent a stringent security check. Our names had been added to the media list, allowing us to set up our cameras briefly before being asked to leave the area until 9:30 a.m. for security to search for the venue and equipment. As a photographer who has covered six Presidents, I had never encountered such a significant presence of police, firemen, and security personnel. Being in the desert, away from urban centers, likely contributed to heightened security precautions, especially following past threats against President Trump. I noticed snipers stationed high on the surrounding hills and a considerable number of security personnel everywhere I looked.

Although we were scheduled to return to our cameras at 9:30, we were delayed. Finally, at 11:00 a.m., we received the unfortunate news that the event had been canceled due to the high winds; there had even been a brief sprinkle of rain. We had to wait until the road was cleared before retrieving our cameras and gear. I had been looking forward to photographing my seventh President, and I felt disappointed when it did not materialize. The life of a photographer is often not very glamorous, but it can be filled with moments of excitement and sadness.