Desert Getaway to Pinyon Wash

We did an overnighter to the Anza Borrego Desert Sunday and Monday.
 First stop was Julian to buy an apple pie:

Then it was down the mountain to the desert.

This is the 4 wheel drive "road" we took for about 2 miles from the highway.

We set up camp in the bit of shade from this tree.  It was HOT until late in the afternoon.

This is near the center of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  You can pretty much camp wherever you like.  We may have been about the only campers for miles around!

 

We started noticing some astonishing bird nests.  Notice the entry hole in the side.

 

 

 

 

 



This cholla cactus had a dried out limb that would be great in a terrarium.



This was an extra large and symetrical Ocotillo plant.  A couple weeks ago it was probably covered in red flowers.

Can you spot the grasshopper?

There were these huge wasps or bees getting nectar from these flowers.

As the sun set, the temperature became perfect - just right for sitting on a rock and watching the stars come out.

The next morning, we started hiking around 7:00, following some washes for about a mile  to the beginning of Bighorn Canyon.  As the canyon narrowed and steepened, we came to these towering formations full of little caves.  With the binoculars, we spotted a large nest in the big hole on the lower left.  Hawk, raven, eagle? Hmmm.

Doin' my thang.

Sage Brush lizard.

An Ash-throated Flycatcher, I believe.

Further up, the canyon became narrow.  We read later that we were getting close to a spring that had a water system for the Bighorn Sheep that live in the area.  We turned back a little too soon, to avoid the scorching heat that was a few hours away, so we didn't get to see the spring.

This large Desert Spiny Lizard looked dead, until we saw it move its head ever so slightly - then it shot off like a rocket.

An even prettier Sage Bruah Lizard!

This Whiptail Lizard had unusual dark spotting and colors going on.  A longish lizard.

Although we didn't see any Bighorn Sheep, we did find this horn.

As we drove out later in the day, we spotted this out of focus Zebra Tailed Lizard.  It ran with its tail curled up over its back, displaying black and white stripes, and looking very much like a scorpion.

The trip was a great retreat from traffic and human generated noise.  The only noise we heard was  the hum of insects, the wind, and the birds - not really noise, but song.  Also, we didn't see another person the entire time after leaving the paved road.  Ahhhh, so good to get away!