Tom and Jo Heindel's first date was a birding trip in the Santa Monica Mountains. After years of cataloguing avian life forms, they're nearing completion of a definitive Inyo County guide.
On a recent weekday morning, Tom and Jo Heindel strode to the top of a hill at the edge of town and held hands, savoring the panoramic views below of elk grazing in alfalfa fields, strips of willows along streams and elm trees glistening with the remnants of rain.