Often a dull orange color, but comes in a variety of colors from gray to brown. Look for a single deep notch in the dorsal crest of the pronotum. Relatively large and long winged - note how far the wings extend past the end of the abdomen. In flight, wings are black with wide cream borders. Sometimes mistaken for a Mourning Cloak butterfly in flight. The border between black and cream can often be seen through the outer wings when not in flight.
Grasshoppers of the Western U.S.: http://idtools.org/id/grasshoppers/factsheet.php?name=13171
Capinera, J.L., R.D. Scott, and T.J. Walker. 2004. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States. Cornell University Press.
Common statewide.
Any areas with open bare ground, including dirt roads, gardens, vacant lots, fallow fields, etc.