HomeCompleted Trips

Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego

Vallecito Valley overnight Messages in this topic - RSS

ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911


12/15/2014
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911
After a couple of years of forum membership, I finally managed to meet up with Daren and his friend Craig for a short trip. Daren's enthusiasm for the desert is unparalleled, except when he sleeps through the Geminid meteor shower. At least 2-3 meteors per minute on Saturday night around 2 am, but I failed to do any night photography. It was kinda cold out there. I did shoot a quick 10-second time-lapse over 40 minutes from camp in the morning. At about the 6-second mark, it's apparent that I caught one of the boys during their morning walk.

Sunrise from camp

Seriously though, Daren's enthusiasm for and knowledge of the region are impressive. It was an honor and a pleasure to camp with him and Craig.

Daren and Craig cruising the terrain:


We had stopped to check out some scat when I noticed a tiny burrow with a low rim of sand held together by silk:



I dropped a tiny stick down the tube and a minute later, the stick began rising back up out of the hole, pushed by a black spider. We figured we could catch the event on camera again, so I dropped the stick down there again and Daren waited:



and waited...



Every time Daren backed off.... the spider would continue to push the stick back up out of the hole. Hope you got something out of the ordeal Daren!

One of several watering troughs in the valley:

A deer antler and jaw jumbled together:

Daren photographing some yonis in the distance, next to about 5 liters of perfectly good, fresh drinking water:

Remnants of a windmill in the valley:

One of several water troughs in the region:

More pump equipment:

Daren was kind enough to show Craig and I a few pictographs. I thought this one looked like a terrier.


After running it through D-Stretch, it occurred to me that this one was the 'fish skeleton' I'd heard them talking about:

Another amazing set of pictos:


Nice views both days:


Thanks again to Daren and Craig for letting me tag along. Look forward to more adventures. smile
edited by ziphius on 12/16/2014

--
http://www.coyotelearning.org
link
hikerdmb
hikerdmb
Posts: 423


12/15/2014
hikerdmb
hikerdmb
Posts: 423
Every time I am on top of Whale Peak I look down in that valley, see how interesting it looks, and say I need to get out there. Thanks for the great pics. And I still need to get out into that area.
link
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622


12/15/2014
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622
I'll throw in some photos...

Watch out when driving thru Ocotillo, you may get knocked over by a turbine, reminds me of miniature golf and the windmill































5+ mylars for the trip



And the video of the spider pushing the stick back out



--
http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
link
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911


12/16/2014
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911
Daren, that's great, you completely nailed the spider and stick video! smile Didn't realize that the narrator would get picked up so well on audio. It sounds almost as if he is afraid of spiders. smile The ants came out great too. Your picto shots make me realize how much I *need* a fisheye lens in my arsenal.
edited by ziphius on 12/16/2014

--
http://www.coyotelearning.org
link
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622


12/16/2014
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622
Jim (ziphius) wrote:
Your picto shots make me realize how much I *need* a fisheye lens in my arsenal.
Those were with a 12mm f/2.0 Rokinon lens. Anything around 10-14mm would be good, a fisheye may be more distorted than you would like for these kinds of shots.

--
http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
link
AdventureGraham
AdventureGraham
Posts: 170


12/16/2014
AdventureGraham
AdventureGraham
Posts: 170
Looks like a fun trip. From where abouts did you guys access that valley? From Blair?
link
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1049


12/16/2014
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1049
Have to admit, the spider video was worth the 78 seconds! Were the skid marks from a coyote or hawk or ? Great trip. Need to head back out there.
link
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911


12/16/2014
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911
tommy750 wrote:
Have to admit, the spider video was worth the 78 seconds! Were the skid marks from a coyote or hawk or ? Great trip. Need to head back out there.



We saw several 'cat litterboxes' during the trip, which might be the skid marks. Daren had to wait a lot longer than 78 seconds for that spider, he showed a lot of patience. FYI, I attended Mark Jorgensen's bighorn talk and book signing this evening at the Natural History Museum. Great talk, incredibly knowledgeable about bighorn biology (and the politics of conservation). During the talk, Mark showed one of Daren's photos, a dead ram, apparently killed by a mountain lion.
edited by ziphius on 12/16/2014

--
http://www.coyotelearning.org
link
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622


12/16/2014
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622
Mark is awesome and extremely knowledgeable about bighorn and ABDSP. Sign up for the bighorn count and you can get his talk every year for free..!!
Do you remember which photo he used? I have sent him several, I would be interested in knowing.

Jim (ziphius) wrote:
FYI, I attended Mark Jorgensen's bighorn talk and book signing this evening at the Natural History Museum. Great talk, incredibly knowledgeable about bighorn biology (and the politics of conservation). During the talk, Mark showed one of Daren's photos, a dead ram, apparently killed by a mountain lion.
edited by ziphius on 12/16/2014


--
http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
link
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622


12/16/2014
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622
tommy750 wrote:
Have to admit, the spider video was worth the 78 seconds! Were the skid marks from a coyote or hawk or ? Great trip. Need to head back out there.
That was the short one..!! That spider shoved the stick out a few different times until Jim put 2 sticks in....smile We saw a ton of cat scratches out there, more than I can remember before in one trip.

--
http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
link
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622


12/16/2014
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622
BorregoWrangler wrote:
Looks like a fun trip. From where abouts did you guys access that valley? From Blair?
BW, you can park off the S2 anywhere there is a shoulder and just start exploring...!!

--
http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
link
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911


12/17/2014
ziphius
ziphius
Posts: 911
dsefcik wrote:
Do you remember which photo he used? I have sent him several, I would be interested in knowing.


It was this one:

http://www.darensefcik.com/Photography/Anza-Borrego-Desert-State-Park/Blair-Valley-Alma-Wash/i-Kdh2vzC/0/M/img_1330_2013-11-03-M.jpg

--
http://www.coyotelearning.org
link
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622


12/17/2014
dsefcik
dsefcik
Administrator
Posts: 2622
Ahh..yes, that was also a trip with Craig, best trip ever, Craig put together a great route for that trip for sure and I would do it again anytime..thanks Jim..!


Jim (ziphius) wrote:
dsefcik wrote:
Do you remember which photo he used? I have sent him several, I would be interested in knowing.


It was this one:

http://www.darensefcik.com/Photography/Anza-Borrego-Desert-State-Park/Blair-Valley-Alma-Wash/i-Kdh2vzC/0/M/img_1330_2013-11-03-M.jpg


--
http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
link






Powered by Jitbit Forum 8.3.8.0 © 2006-2013 Jitbit Software