In one of Baja's most picturesque desert landscapes filled with Boojum Trees, massive Cardons and truck sized boulders; there is an ancient cave filled with colorful geometric shapes and humanesque forms. Credit for these colorful pictographs is given to the Cochimi Indians who inhabitated a significant portion of Central Baja thousands of years ago. We set out in the noontime desert heat and made our way up the sandy swithchback up towards the cave. The triple digit temperatures quickly dropped as we entered the large cavern. There we were greeted by bright yellow, orange, red and black etchings that were remarkably similiar to the drawin... [More]

Anza Borrego Bighorn Sheep [More]

Jim Pelley of Ocotillo graciously supplied these photos of the first day of the Ocotillo Express Wind Farm construction. Pattern's Earth Moving equipment has already caused substantial damage to the fragile desert outside of Ocotillo. Crushed Ocotillo plant. Ocotillo plants can live 60 years and there have been reported cases of 100 year old Ocotillo. Unfortunately this one had its' life cut short by Pattern's Earth Moving equipment. Another crushed Ocotillo plant. Good chance this dormant Ocotillo in the foreground won't be standing much longer My favorite part about this picture is the BLM L... [More]

Ocotillo residents are fighting to preserve 12,500 acres of desert habitat from being destroyed. The 465-foot-tall industrial Wind Turbines would be visible for miles. Large numbers of Ocotillo, the beautiful desert plant that gives the tiny desert town its' name will be destroyed. Picture hundreds of 465 foot tall metal wind turbines as far as the eye can see. Funny part was, when we were driving around the proposed project site this past weekend, there was barely a hint of a breeze. Coincidence?   What's at stake if the Ocotillo Wind project goes thru. Following photos were provided by Gidon and were taken from Piedras G... [More]

Ocotillo Express Wind Farm Map In case you had any doubt that the Ocotillo Express Wind Farm is a huge project which will destroy miles and miles of desert habitat take a look at this interactive Google Earth Map. Thanks to Mojave Desert BLOG for the image which I then overlaid in Google Earth. Large Version

The Island is one of those areas that we have driven by for twenty years and never stopped. To be honest we are not sure it is even called the Island. It is a freeway island, sandwiched in between the high speed lanes of Interstate 8. The Jacumba Mountains flank its' northern edge while the In-Ko-Pah Gorge lies to south.  Driving east I was surprised to find some late season snow near Pine Valley. Bighorn Sheep, freeway debris, Sunrise Powerlink towers, Native American artifacts, target practice folks and beautiful desert all stuck between the high speed lanes of the Interstate 8 Freeway The Island is h... [More]

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors will meet to discuss whether or not to approve the March 28th Planning Commission's recommendation to grant a conditional use permit (CUP) and height variance for more than one hundred 425 ft. tall turbines on 12,000 acres of beautiful desert habitat adjacent to the southern boundary of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and surrounding the village of Ocotillo. We need a very large crowd of people who are opposed to this project to attend this public hearing! Anza-Borrego Desert State Park needs defending!  The park staff comments were suppressed so it is up to the people who love the park and who car... [More]

Short video of Bighorn Sheep near Anza Borrego

We finally had a free weekend, so we decided to drive out to Anza Borrego to see how the wildflowers were progressing. Our plan was to camp in Carrizo Gorge but as we approached the turnoff we noticed at least 20 cars parked at the entrance. Not sure what was going on but we quickly drove by to find some where a bit more secluded. We ended up camping in Indian Valley which was a great choice. We found a great spot set among the blooming Ocotillo plants and set up our camp.  Now onto our  Anza Borrego Wildflower report : The Ocotillo are putting on an amazing display in southern Anza Borrego. The stalks are covered with emeral gre... [More]

I left the coast on an overcast morning with a cold north wind blowing.  Daren had invited me to check out some pictographs he had found around the Jacumba area so I was excited to make the trip.  Once I hit Lakeside the clouds disappeared and the clear blue skies beckoned me eastward. We had planned to meet at the Subway / gas station in Jacumba , so I arrived a bit early to pick up a sandwich. The place was busy with people heading east towing all types of sand toys. Funny how the desert means different things to different people. To some there is nothing better than blasting up the dunes at Glamis, while to others a quiet hike ... [More]