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anutami Posts: 491
3/11/2013
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I have been itching to get back out in the park and decided to take a short trip to Elephant Knees (thanks for the suggestion Daren) to search for some fossils and get a different perspecitve of the park.
On the way out we encoutered some snow
and rainbows
and sinking pits of clay
Beautiful Washes
Sleeping at a slant all night (stuck in the clay pit all night), I was up at the crack of dawn and got some morning photos 
I called the ranger headquarters on Friday to see if there were any rangers in the area, and all were off for the day. I am greatful Ranger Steve got the message and headed out to help me on Saturday morning. He is a great guy for helping me. We both put our rigs in 4wd LOW and he backed up while I drove forward! Wheels spun for a bit, but then the rig started to move. He would not even accept a tip or a soda or anything. All I could do was give him a big man hug. I will just include his tip in my next donation to the Anza Borrego Foundation.
I learned my lesson not to drive on redish ground with salt crust anymore. It was like driving into the La Brea CLAY Pits. Now I know where all the Native Americans made all those ollas from. Every shovel full to try and dig the rig out was approx 15lbs! I was soooo sore the morning. It was a great work out.
After about 15 hours of being delayed we could set our sites on Elephant Knees
there are ancient reefs all over the place. The kids and I for that matter could not believe this was once a shallow ocean!!!
Millions and Millions of fossilized sea life all over
On another planet...Tatooine?
Any Sand People around here?
We took Direct route up
Views looking to the South/ southwest from the top
Kids had a blast on the way down.
And even more of blast when they found this. This really made then believe this actually was an Ocean!!!
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
3/11/2013
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Awesome....did you see a small shrine on a hill north of the top of the knees? I am glad your kids made it to the top, that is a steep climb!
So since it was my idea to go out there you gonna tell Steve to just send me the bill?
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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ziphius Posts: 911
3/11/2013
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Boy, THAT looks like a great adventure and a great location to check out. I bet the kids weren't even worried, heh? Awesome photos, especially the sunrise! To the point that you got stuck, what are the road conditions like? 2wd-driveable?
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http://www.coyotelearning.org
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hikerdmb Posts: 423
3/11/2013
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Another great trip/adventure/learning experience for your kids. I love the rainbow pic. Glad you got out okay. Looked like a good stuck.
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tommy750 Posts: 1049
3/11/2013
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Nice trip Nolan and glad you got out okay. So, what's the forum wisdom on getting unstuck when out by yourself? Saw this neat little cartoon on the science of really dropping tire pressure but I'm a novice at knowing what works. Tom
tire pressure by tomteske, on Flickr
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anutami Posts: 491
3/12/2013
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dsefcik wrote:
Awesome....did you see a small shrine on a hill north of the top of the knees? I am glad your kids made it to the top, that is a steep climb!
So since it was my idea to go out there you gonna tell Steve to just send me the bill?
Yeah, there was a pile of rocks placed in a circle on the top of a mud hill. Was that it? It looked very interesting.
I bet Steve's next joke will probably incorporate me somehow, so I am glad to keep his jokes going.
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1364
3/12/2013
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It is usually those trips where something goes wrong that are most memorable
Great rainbow picture with the Brittlebush in the foreground and really cool fossils
Bob
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1364
3/12/2013
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Dropping tire pressure can really help out.
Problem is when you are stuck in mud/muck you can't jack the car up and put stuff under the tires.. (another trick)
tommy750 wrote:
Nice trip Nolan and glad you got out okay. So, what's the forum wisdom on getting unstuck when out by yourself? Saw this neat little cartoon on the science of really dropping tire pressure but I'm a novice at knowing what works. Tom
tire pressure by tomteske, on Flickr
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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anutami Posts: 491
3/12/2013
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The road is easily accessible with a 2wd vehicle with high clearance (right now).
I tried all the tricks to get out of the clay...dropped my psi 25. Tried to suck pieces of 2x4 under the tires, tried to dig out under the tires and hammer pieces of 2x4. Dug out and piled a bunch of rocks. Got a huge flat boulder and tried to jack up the rear end, but the rock kept sinking....I just ordered a hi-lift jack http://www.hi-lift.com/hi-lift-jacks/index.html though it wouldn't have worked in the clay.
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dsefcik Administrator Posts: 2622
3/12/2013
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surfponto wrote:
Problem is when you are stuck in mud/muck you can't jack the car up and put stuff under the tires.. (another trick)
Ummmm..sorry, isn't the problem here the driver of the *stuck* vehicle..????
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http://www.sefcik.com
http://www.darensefcik.com
http://www.carrizogorge.com
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1364
3/13/2013
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Yeah and he doesn't even have a driver's license .
dsefcik wrote:
surfponto wrote:
Problem is when you are stuck in mud/muck you can't jack the car up and put stuff under the tires.. (another trick)
Ummmm..sorry, isn't the problem here the driver of the *stuck* vehicle..????
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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anutami Posts: 491
3/15/2013
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surfponto wrote:
Yeah and he doesn't even have a driver's license .
dsefcik wrote:
surfponto wrote:
Problem is when you are stuck in mud/muck you can't jack the car up and put stuff under the tires.. (another trick)
Ummmm..sorry, isn't the problem here the driver of the *stuck* vehicle..????
Bob, How did you get out of that one? I'll bet you were covered in Mud!
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surfponto Administrator Posts: 1364
3/15/2013
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Hey Nolan,
We yanked it out with another diesel Land Cruiser. Funny thing was I went off the main road to avoid the salty water and ended up getting buried in the salty muck. 
Which brings up another point. Always travel with at least two vehicles.....in Baja anyway
Nolan (anutami) wrote:
surfponto wrote:
Yeah and he doesn't even have a driver's license .
dsefcik wrote:
surfponto wrote:
Problem is when you are stuck in mud/muck you can't jack the car up and put stuff under the tires.. (another trick)
Ummmm..sorry, isn't the problem here the driver of the *stuck* vehicle..????
Bob, How did you get out of that one? I'll bet you were covered in Mud!
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https://www.anzaborrego.net/
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AdventureGraham Posts: 170
3/18/2013
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Looks like a fun trip and you have some fantastic photos! It was awesome that the ranger was able to come out and give you a hand with your stuck rig. Its been ages since I've been in that area of the park.
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JoeTime Posts: 3
3/21/2013
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Yikes, heading out that way this this weekend, only one vehicle so I'll have to be extra careful to avoid that kind of stuff. My lady wont be happy if an overnighter turns into a couple days.. Although I wouldn't mind! haha
Nice pics though. I might need to try that climb up the Knees.
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anutami Posts: 491
3/21/2013
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JoeTime wrote:
Yikes, heading out that way this this weekend, only one vehicle so I'll have to be extra careful to avoid that kind of stuff. My lady wont be happy if an overnighter turns into a couple days.. Although I wouldn't mind! haha
Nice pics though. I might need to try that climb up the Knees.
Have fun!
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