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Post by rockpickerforever on May 27, 2015 11:57:19 GMT -5
Took a drive out to the desert on Sunday. Cold and gloomy in San Diego (they call it "May Grey" and next month it will be "June Gloom"), so headed for parts east to warm up. Just a day trip, so left the trailer home.
First we headed for Ocotillo Wells. We drove out Hwy 67 through Ramona, which turns into 78. Then a left turn (north) on 79 at Santa Ysabel. This takes you past Lake Henshaw and towards Warner Springs. Saw this bobcat prowling the dry grasses at the side of the highway.
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4. Stalking something... 
5. Just snapped this pic blindly, didn't see what appears to be a little kitty until it was on the computer. (Sorry for poor pic quality - lo resolution camera, zoomed out to max.) Maybe it was a momma bobcat - a Bettycat? - and she had some kits stashed? 
Before seeing the bobcat, we saw a group of wild turkeys (a rafter? Huh, learn something new everyday. Thank you, Google!) at the side of the road. And just afterwards, a coyote loping across a big field. Sorry, no pics of these. Hard to capture photos with old camera while hurtling down the highway.
6. View back the way we had come, Lake Henshaw is out of the photo to the left. The sun is starting to peek through the clouds a bit. 
7. Before getting to Warner Springs, you make a right (south) and go back down the mountain through San Felipe valley. View to west of clouds being stopped by the mountains. (65 mph shot.) 
At the bottom, you hit 78 again (going this way bypasses winding Banner Grade), and turn left (east) and another 30 miles will take you to Ocotillo Wells.
We drove into the park, got out, stretched our legs, and took a few photos. While it has been illegal to collect any natural resource in the park for some time, they didn't used to worry about rocks. They've recently gotten more serious about enforcing it. So we left. They've posted a bunch of new signs with all their rules on them. Used to be the only rules were common sense ones - wear a helmet, have a whip on your vehicle.
8. Tarantula Wash, view to soputheast of Fish Creek Mountains (left, eastern end) and Vallecito Mountains (in Anza Borrego) to the right. 
9. View to northwest, Santa Rosa Mountains. 
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11. Have found plenty of this out there before. Although this one doesn't, some of it looks like a dried fruit with a pit in it. 
12. I believe it is a type of barite nodule. Snapped a pic, left it there. 
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We left Ocotillo Wells, heading back the way we came. When we hit S2, we turned left (south) towards Shelter Valley, and eventually to the town of Ocotillo. Most of this leg of the trip was through Anza Borrego Desert State Park. No rock hounding here, these guys are even more serious than the rangers at the Ocotillo Wells SRVA.
15. Some of the plants that the aliens didn't eat. 
16. Took a bunch of pics of the Century plants in bloom (AKA, desert agave: Agave deserti) along the highway. 
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18. Splashes of yellow. 
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20. Clouds to the west still... 
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After reaching the town of Ocotillo, we jumped on I8 and headed east just a bit further to the Yuha Basin. This area is where you can find the large fossilized oysters. Don't personally care much for them. We stayed here for a couple hours, had lunch, wandered around and picked up a few rocks. The area has a lot of dark rocks, so the brutal sun beating down made it seem warmer than 89 degrees. Poor Lucy, it was hot at ground level!
We left Yuha Basin, and headed north across I8 to the Plaster City OHV area. This is an off road area as well, but not a state administered park, so no huge ranger presence. Drove around more then we walked, but still managed to find a few rocks to bring home. Drove home via I8.
So not much of a rock hounding expedition, but got us out of the house and filled the day. Got home in the late afternoon, back into the coastal clouds and coolness. Capped off the day with Mexican food from our favorite Mexican food restaurant, El Puerto. They make the BEST shrimp burrito, so huge we always split one.
The End.
Thanks for looking, hope I didn't bore you with all the agave photos. Jean |
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quartz
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breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on May 27, 2015 23:31:51 GMT -5
Not bored, always enjoy seeing areas very different than here, thanks.
Larry
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Post by snowmom on May 28, 2015 4:20:08 GMT -5
so beautiful! not bored, love all the photos and descriptions. So cool to see bobcats on the side of the road. I think of them as woodland creatures, but I guess they must be like coyotes and adaptable to wherever they end up.
I have yet to see one but I understand they live here too. The stalk on that last agave looks like a flag pole. Hard to decide how thick and tall it actually was. century plant indeed, the mother plant around its base looks like it has been there forever. Is it windy there this time of year (thinking no, because of the haze). I am wondering if the stalks are so tall to facilitate spread of pollen or seeds or both...what time of year are the seeds released?
Love that you took us with you, and love seeing what you saw. I will most likely never see it 'in person'. grateful for the opportunity provided in the photos and explanations. Thanks for posting these.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on May 28, 2015 4:42:40 GMT -5
What a paradise. Clouds, Mountains, plant life. Puzzled why your bobcats are almost black. Must be hot under that fur. Seems like beige would allow more camouflage. Florida version :  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 7:30:30 GMT -5
All that agave and you did not make us some tequila. yaeeee yaeeee yaeee the Mexican curse on you. Great trip report though. For a dung of a camera there is one shot there that looks like it could be on a calender. And no, I am not going all the way back to do the count down unless you bat your eye lashes at me. Is Bob healed up enough sos he can out run me.
Jim
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 9:31:01 GMT -5
I've never seen such a dark bobcat anywhere. That's to cool.
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quartz
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breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
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Post by quartz on May 28, 2015 11:29:54 GMT -5
Never have seen a dark bobcat either, but the big question is: How do you get one to be still long enough for even one picture? We have seen a couple of them, and they are GONE, very quickly. Maybe the heat slows them down.
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Post by rockpickerforever on May 28, 2015 11:54:58 GMT -5
Not bored, always enjoy seeing areas very different than here, thanks. Larry Thanks for coming with us, Larry. Glad you enjoyed the ride. As for the bobcat sitting still, we just got lucky with that one, Larry. It was only about 8 am, so not hot yet. It was definitely interested in something.
I realize that the directions are kind of hard to follow, so I had Google draw me up a map. And no, I don't live at the Spring Valley Swapmeet, but close enough for government use. Just 271 miles, not counting the ones we did off road in three locations. The bobcat (turkeys and coyote, too) was seen off of S2 (right turn before coming to Warner Springs), and before the turn to Ranchita. Went back and added a red dot to mark the approximate location. 
so beautiful! not bored, love all the photos and descriptions. So cool to see bobcats on the side of the road. I think of them as woodland creatures, but I guess they must be like coyotes and adaptable to wherever they end up. I have yet to see one but I understand they live here too. The stalk on that last agave looks like a flag pole. Hard to decide how thick and tall it actually was. century plant indeed, the mother plant around its base looks like it has been there forever. Is it windy there this time of year (thinking no, because of the haze). I am wondering if the stalks are so tall to facilitate spread of pollen or seeds or both...what time of year are the seeds released? Love that you took us with you, and love seeing what you saw. I will most likely never see it 'in person'. grateful for the opportunity provided in the photos and explanations. Thanks for posting these. Thanks, Deb. The bobcat pics were taken heading up the west side of the Laguna Mountains. There are cattle grazed on this land, so suspect that plays a role in the type of plants. Oaks, poison oak (lots of it!), pines and deciduous trees, shrubs and scrub. The grasslands go up the hill for a ways, then it is wooded. So they don't strictly live in savannah-like vegetation. Just happened to luck out and see this one walking along. Amazing, after we had driven past it, it stayed in one place long enough for us to turn the big truck around and go back to get some photos. Have only seen two or three of them over the years while traversing these same roads. Coyotes are abundant, see them all the time. Don't even have to leave home to see them, they brazenly come into neighborhoods looking for fast food (small dogs, cats).
Wiki says the flower stalks go up 2 - 6 meters, what's that? Almost 20 feet? Yeah, I'm sure many of them are at least this tall. The taller ones are probably six to eight inches in diameter. They are called century plants because it is erroneously assumed that they only flower every 100 years. Simply not true. It does take them a long time before they flower, and when they are die, the mother plant dies. New plants sprout from the base of that. Unlike bamboo, they do not all flower at the same time, and then die off.
The wind is quite variable, not really based on time of year. On Sunday, their was a slight (5 - 10 mph) breeze. But at times, it can really get ripping. Height may help for seed dispersal (seeds falling far away from mother plant), or might help protect the flower from hungry, ground-dwelling critters. Fifteen feet up in the air allows only access to the birds and bugs that pollinate it.
The agaves send up flower stalks whenever conditions are right. Generally in the spring, but not always. Give them some rain, and they shoot right up. Sort of like the ocotillo greening up and blooming after a shower. With the oncoming heat (supposed to be in triple digits by Sunday!), the yellow inflorescences will dry up soon, splitting open and dropping seed.
All that agave and you did not make us some tequila. yaeeee yaeeee yaeee the Mexican curse on you. Great trip report though. For a dung of a camera there is one shot there that looks like it could be on a calender. And no, I am not going all the way back to do the count down unless you bat your eye lashes at me. Is Bob healed up enough sos he can out run me. Jim First of all, @wampidy, tequila is made from blue agave, not this run of the mill stuff.
You've got me curious, which photo is it that "looks like it could be on a calendar?" I've gone back and numbered the photos to make it easier for you to point it out (in case the one you are referring to is higher than ten, lol).
Bob healed up? No, he pretty much still hurts every day. Especially when he has to move machine vices around at work. You'd most likely win that race...
jamesp and @shotgunner - Having not seen too many of them in the wild, I had no idea they are supposed to be lighter colored. Guess no one told them, lol. I don't they are typically found out in the light grass so often, but mostly keep to the higher elevations in the trees and brush.
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on May 28, 2015 12:43:07 GMT -5
Liking the photos Jean!!!!!!!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 13:53:30 GMT -5
I think you saw a valuable mutation. A hunter or fur farm would be pleased to have that beast.
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Post by rockpickerforever on May 28, 2015 14:00:55 GMT -5
Hey, hey, not my kitty! I like him/her right where he/she is! That pelt looks better on the critter than on a person.
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Post by snowmom on May 28, 2015 15:59:38 GMT -5
melanistic critters appear from time to time. melanistic raccoons were common where I used to live in IL as were melanistic deer. This website shows a picture of a super dark bobcat. Other site I looked at reported that melanistic bobcats have been reported only in FL, but I am not sure that the info on that one is up to date considering comments on this link and Jean's confirmed( by her photos) sighting! retrieverman.net/2011/02/25/melanistic-bobcat/ |
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Post by johnjsgems on May 28, 2015 16:57:05 GMT -5
I've seen bobcats in Barstow, Lytle Creek and on Hwy 38 early a.m. on way up to Big Bear. Pretty neat animals. We have coyotes in abundance here and had one kit fox pay a visit one evening. We had a century plant in the yard when I was a kid (outside Long Beach, CA). The flower stalk was huge. After flowering the stalk fell right across the driveway. Couldn't get out to go to school (yay!). Dad said no problem, get the saws and cut it up instead of going to school. Not so yay.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 18:11:44 GMT -5
You saved my bacon Jean. The photo is number 22. I had to go back up twice, once to get the first number then again to get the second number but I goter done. The photo is divided pretty much in thirds just like they taught me in college. A good photo can be divided into thirds vertically also. Go back and see if you see what I see. It would be much better if there was no haze on the mountains but it is getting difficult to find a place without haze now days.
AND run of the mill tequila is better than no tequila at all. And thats the truth.
Jim
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 3, 2015 11:42:34 GMT -5
Jim @wampidy , didn't mean to ignore you, sorry about that. Thanks for liking #22. Yes, I see what you see, photo divided in thirds both horizontally and vertically. I have been told I have a good eye for composition. I don't know, I just see a vision/landscape, and automatically compose the pic without even consciously thinking about it. I never took any photography classes or anything, but the same guidelines hold true for art (painting, drawing, etc) as well. And I was always into things artsy fartsy.
As the Big Bopper says, "I knooooow what I like!"
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Post by Pat on Jun 3, 2015 21:39:46 GMT -5
I love the desert! Thanks for the trip. Cute kitty, too.
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