Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Good Buddies

Desert Escape

This weekend, we went for an overnight camp out in the Anza-Borrego Desert, specifically our little corner of the desert, Pinyon Wash.  We love the solitude and wildness out there.

 Driving up the wash was tricky with the van.  We had to move some rocks, and eventually we got stuck in the sand.  After shoveling and pushing, we found some firm ground to set up camp.

 This is the bottom land of the area which drains numerous surrounding canyons.  Flash flooding in this area in late summer can be a very serious matter.  We took an afternoon hike over to those distant mountains. Since there are no trails, we looked behind us often, and I had my GPS for backup.

 Back lit cholla is beautiful, but those hairy needles seem to jump out at you if you get too close.

Sometime this summer, this was a raging torrent.

 Evening glow and long shadows.

 This was our campsite.

 Snacking before dinner.  We cooked salmon and trout, rice, and gyozas.  No backpack food on this trip!

 Did we mention that October 29 is crazy hat day in the desert?

 The weather was calm and mild.

 Dawn.  Can you see our van, "Blue"?  After a fine breakfast of eggs and leftovers, we started our hike across the plain to the mouth of Bighorn Canyon.  Our goal was to find Blue Spring high up on the slopes of Pinyon Mountain.  The spring feeds a series of tanks and a water trough to help sustain a small herd of Bighorn Mountain Sheep.  We tried on two other occasions to find the elusive spring and failed.  This time I was armed with map coordinates and GPS.  It still was not easy.

 A nest with side entrance.

 Gail scored an evil Mylar balloon.

 The mouth of Bighorn Canyon.

 Soon we started seeing mountain lion tracks mixed in with bighorn sheep tracks.

 It looks like the mountain lion is following the bighorns.  We saw no human tracks after leaving the jeep trail near our car.

Bighorn scat, not too old.

 Cholla.  We both got our share of needles deposited into us.

 And then... Gail spotted bighorn sheep high up on the rocks.  Can you see the one in the middle of the picture?  These bighorn pictures are taken with my 300 mm. lens.

 We saw six altogether.  These appear to be young males and females.

Something had their attention.  Hmmmm.

 Along the way we saw a probable Anna's Hummingbird.

 Say's Phoebe.

 Black-throated Sparrow.

and a Phainopepla.

 The further up the canyon we got, the narrower and steeper the climb became.

 We started seeing juniper trees, a sign of higher elevation.

 Occasional flowers along the way.

 This looks like a rock garden display!

 This might be California Fuscia.

 The canyon really began to narrow and soon we realized we were off course, verified by my GPS.  We needed to be west over another ridge.

We tried to go over the ridge but had to turn back.  Gail slid on her rear most of the way down this slope.

Finally, we spotted the tanks of Blue Spring.  They were obviously made to be hard to find.

 The metal trough on the left contained the accessible water piped from the tanks.  The whole area was covered in tracks - mainly bighorn.

As I looked around this tank my heart skipped a beat (well, actually it can't)!

 There was a not so old lion kill.  We really felt like we were being watched.  What a perfect spot for mountain lions to hang out.  They have water and a constant supply of fresh meat.

 There was hair and skin still on some of the bones.  As much as we would have liked to explore the area, and no doubt discover more bones, we decided to get the heck out.

 Dark clouds started moving in on the way back.  Will we finally get our rain?

We have never seen such a big cluster of barrel cactus as this.

Well, time to hit the road and get back on the highway before dark.  We had a great mix of adventure,  fun, and leisure.  The desert has become our short trip refuge from the traffic, hordes, malls, and urban sprawl. Of course, as usual, we did pick up a Julian Apple Pie on the way home.

Thanksgiving

We decided to go ride our bikes around Balboa Park on Thursday.  There were very light crowds - mostly foreign tourists it seemed.  The temperature must have been over 80!

 We usually have to go to the south end of the park to wave to the incoming passengers.

Later in the afternoon, we rode over to the zoo.  We took the tram just before closing.  There were fine views of the sunset, bay, and Point Loma in the distance.

Video from the Trail Cam

I have recently started using video on my trail cam.  FUN!  The following was from Friday night behind our back fence.

Raccoon  12:56 AM

Mystery Animal   2:27 AM

Coyote  5:43 AM

Coyote #2  5:44 AM

Coyote #2  10 seconds later

Pelican Dreams

Pelican Dreams is a just released documentary by Judy Irving, the filmmaker who created the award winning film The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.  This film is currently showing in theaters around the country.  What makes it particularly exciting for Gail and me is that three of the human stars are our friends and mentors from International Bird Rescue.  Every Saturday, Gail and I worked alongside them, amazed by their skill, knowledge, and dedication.  Monte Merrick and Laura Corsiglia are billed as the human stars, but also in the film is Marie Travers, just as skilled and committed to animal rehabilitation, but always turning down personal publicity.

 We saw the film in San Diego the Friday before last.

Gail and I met at IBR working with pelicans, other aquatic birds, and the people who send them back to the wild, so this film worked us over emotionally - we were both in tears at the end!  Even if we hadn't had the experience, we would still have loved the film.  Pelicans are particularly endearing with their mix of curiosity, awkwardness on land, and grace in flight.

The film tells the true story of Gigi, a Brown Pelican rescued in traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. Interspersed is documentary about natural history, threats, successes, and others who rehab pelicans.

Below are some snapshots I took of the movie screen:

Marie Travers

 Monte Merrick

Laura Corsiglia

When we came home, we had to reminisce with our old photos from IBR, so here are a few:

 Laura and Gail working on a patient.

 Gail and Marie in a rare moment downtime.

 Laura and duck.

 Our pelican aviary where "Gigi" lived and regained her flight.

 The amazing Monte, one of the most entertaining persons to listen to on the planet.

 Standing, are Judy Irving and her husband/film making partner Mark Bittner.  The above two shots were from Monte's "Perfect Room", an evening of performance art he m.c.'d up in Arcata.

 This is my personal pelican favorite.  I took these two pelicans down to Fort Baker for release.  They stepped out of their carriers, looked at each other, flew to the water for a couple minutes, then took off together under the Golden Gate.  A minute later, they came back high over the bridge then circled higher and higher, apparently getting their bearings.  A perfect release!

 Here I am drawing blood from a Great Blue Heron.

 This was our first time "off campus" together - a goose release.

Monte makes netting a pelican look so easy!  Here, Gail is getting this one to fly down from the high perch so she can net it on the ground or in the water.  In a group of say 30 pelicans, the one you're after senses it immediately - before you even make a move. They can read minds!

If you get a chance to see Pelican Dreams, don't miss it!