Carey Photography - OffTopic

Wild to mild

2009-10-30T16:10:00.001-07:00

I was hoping to write this week about last weekend's fun with 40+ jeeps on the black diamond BullFrog Trail in Johnson Valley, California. The offroad community is currently engaged to save this beautiful OHV park of black diamond trails jeep trails and we were happy to finally have a chance to experience at least one of the trails before it may be lost forever. But...I've had an incredibly busy week and haven't finished processing the photos . Still playing catchup with a lot of things in my personal life.

And I'm on my way out the door again, this time just Bill and I for a more relaxing pace and some exploration in the northeast region of the Mojave National Preserve. I'm hoping to find some real dinosaur tracks! The Mojave Preserve is one of my favorite places to visit - spectacular rock formations, beautiful cinder cones, the singing sand dunes, the surreal landscape of the lava beds, magnificent mountains, the historic Mojave Road and its Army outposts, more abandoned mines than I think I'll ever be able to visit, and of course miles and miles of trails where you most likely will never see another person. Sometimes we people in California take a lot of this for granted - it's free, it's remote wilderness, we can camp wherever we want, and we can drive on any trail we can handle. Lots of people in other states would give anything to have what we have. So let's not take it for for granted - get out there and enjoy it, and take care of it.

Guess I'll have lots to write about next week!

The photo is the incredible sunset as seen from our camp last weekend.

Nothing after the jump.

I'm back

2009-10-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Just needed to focus on some other priorities in my life for a while. Sometimes that happens.

While taking care of other things I managed to let my domain name expire (auto-renewal is a MUST) and someone else scooped it up and wants a crazy price to sell it back. There goes a lot of hard work down the drain, my own fault really. After a lot of cursing and kicking myself I'm back up and running with two new domains, one for my photography website and one for my blog. Still trying to make sure I've recoded all the links and I'm working my way through my business contacts to inform them of the new addresses. LOL, of course my e-mail address was lost with my domain name. The only thing that wasn't lost was my blog. Sometimes the only way to get through things is to drink heavily and laugh heartily, then roll up your sleeves and get back to work.

I've got some great trips to write about, exciting news to share, and of course some awesome photos. For now I just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that I'm hard at work behind the scenes to get everything straightened out and plan to start posting on a regular basis again. :)

Nothing after the jump.

Helping to preserve military aviation history

2009-05-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm always deeply aware of the historical and cultural significance of many of the sites I visit - places and things that tell the story of our country and that few people will get ever to see for themselves - and I love that the subjects I photograph put me in touch with the most interesting and knowledgeable people who share many of my passions.

A few months back I had written about a trip to the Crucero region of the Mojave desert where I visited and photographed the remains of the McDonnell F-4D 64-940 USAF plane that crashed in 1968, and shortly thereafter I was contacted by Pat Macha, California's premier aviation archaeologist and wreck finder. Pat is the author of "Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of California" and host of the History Channel's "Broken Wings". Best of all, he lives right here in Orange County. If you are fascinated with finding or learning about these lost plane wrecks in the most remote regions of California, I highly recommend a visit to his website Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West.

Of special note to my friends in M.I.A. - Military in Action, is the dedication on Pat's website -

"This site is dedicated to the memory of those men and women who lost their lives in service to our nation, especially those who remain missing and unaccounted for, in the vastness of the American West and the Pacific Ocean."

Pat wanted to use some of my photos in the newest edition of his book, but he also wanted to talk about my visit to the wreck site. Seems there was another wreck very nearby and he was researching and planning a field trip to verify exactly which wreck site was which. And ya'll know how much I love to talk about exploring the desert! Pat was kind enough to keep me informed as his research progressed, and he recently made his trip out there to verify the wreck sites. He confirmed that the site I visited was the one I believed it to be, but shared some sad news. With his permission I am posting his note -

Lori,

I finally got out to the three crash sites including the one that you visited, and it is the F-4D USAF aircraft that was described in Bill Mann's book. Since you were there however, the outer wing panel with the X on it has been removed by persons unknown. Your photo of the wing section with the X is now very important to me as it's no longer there.

The USN F-4B is very close to the F-4D, but it is widely scattered with no large parts remaining. The accident sites are unrelated and happened in different years.

Thanks to you a piece of aviation history will be preserved.

Thanks again,

Pat

and in a follow up note - "Your photo has become very important to the historical record!"

I suppose the real surprise is that the remains were untouched for over 40 years and I'm glad I had an opportunity to photograph them before someone began salvaging. Deep down inside when one does documentary photography there is always the hope that you may create an image of significance, no matter how small. Pat gave that opportunity to me and for that I sincerely thank him. To me that is more important than fame and fortune.

You can see my original blog post with some of the photos here.

If you are fascinated by lost plane wrecks and military aviation history, be sure to buy the new edition of Pat's book when it is released. After all...you know one of the photographers! ;)

Theme and Variations

2009-05-05T11:09:00.001-07:00

Bet you didn't know I am a classically trained pianist; few people do. My life is divided into four distinct segments, and I recently realized that there is no one alive who knows all of the parts; in fact, very few even know two. It's been on my mind a lot lately as I wonder about maybe finding a way to connect all the dots and make it one story instead of four separate chapters.

My first word was music and it's always played a very important part of my life. Theme and variations has always been one of my favorite practice drills; pick a piece as the theme, say something by Beethoven, then play it in a different key (preferably minor), next a different tempo, then in the style of Chopin, throw in some Rachmaninoff, try it as a waltz or a polka or make it rock and roll. I could do that for hours and it never seemed like practice.

While reviewing some images from a recent day out shooting, Theme and Variations is what came to mind.

...nothing after the jump.

Border Fence in Jacumba

2009-03-24T13:51:00.001-07:00

One of my on-going projects is photographing the fence along the US-Mexico International Border. It's been slowly evolving; I keep hoping that I'll happen along a great story one of these times, like the volleyball game that took place across the fence on the beach one year with Mexicans on one side and Americans on the other, or a child staring at me from the other side, but so far my visits haven't yielded any human interest stories. I'll keep trying though; the scenery is beautiful and the fence is a rag-tag assortment of various materials all along its length, so there's no shortage of things to photograph.

Much of the fence is located in rugged mountainous terrain here in California, so figuring out the best locations to visit can be challenging. I'm always on the lookout for new information on locations, so when a fellow jeeper showed me photos and told me about Jacumba (hah-COOM-bah), a sleepy border town in the high-desert in San Diego county just across the border from Imperial county, I knew I had to go investigate.

The easiest place to access the fence is about a half mile off the I8 In-Ko-Pah exit, but it's not for the meek. There is a valley on BLM land between the mountains that is used for free range shooting, and on this morning there were at least thirty people firing various weapons at just about anything they wanted to use for a target. I'm a shooter myself so that doesn't bother me, but you still have to stop and wonder for a minute if there's one yahoo in the group and think about a stray ricochet when you hear those high-power rifles being fired at targets with rocks behind them. If being around that many people firing guns bothers you, you definitely do not want to visit this area. On the map below you can clearly see the trails leading into the area, as well as the stretch of trail that runs along the fence.

View Larger Map

The border patrol has sensors in the area and as soon as you are within sight of the fence they will appear at your side to see what you are up to. I usually prefer to find them first, introduce myself and let them know what I am doing, but sometimes they are hiding and not easy to find. I'm always amazed at how friendly they are given the nature of their job, and I find that most of them are very willing to chat and tell you about the area.

The border region in Jacumba is one of the most dangerous in the state; because most of the terrain is very remote and rugged it is an extremely active region, and Jacumba boasts that mile for mile, more drugs have been seized here than anywhere else along the California line. A lot of dead bodies have also been found, and there have been many, many violent encounters between smugglers and Border Guards. One of the Border Guards I talked with told us that they are not permitted to patrol the mountains alone after dark because the risk is too high. One should always remain alert when venturing out in the remote border regions. This area felt very safe because there were so many well-armed folks not far away, but we knew it would be different once we head into the mountains.

We came across a barbed wire fence before reaching the steel fence, but as instructed by the border guard we traveled along the length of it until we found a (legal) spot to cross through to the sandy trail that travels the length of the fence in this area. Before Operation Gatekeeper started in 1994, there was little in the way of fencing along the border in Jacumba. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 brought double-reinforced fencing and sensors along much of the border here.

What's on the other side? Nothing but desert here.

Then we had to decide; head east or head west? Bill chose east and we head for the mountains.

Now the interesting thing here is that while to the west we could see the fence run all along up and down the mountains (no photos to share since I was shooting into the sun), when we head east we came to an abrupt end of the fence. You can see from the terrain just how difficult it would be to install a fence up this mountain, and I'm sure that this is one of the reasons that this area is so popular with people looking to cross the border illegally; the boulder at the end of the fence isn't much of a deterrent.

Upgrading or installing fence to address the gaps has long been a point of contention in San Diego county because of the impact on the environment. Congress has overruled more than 30 state and federal environmental laws to allow the installation of the new upgraded fencing in designated wilderness regions. On western side of San Diego county about 2 miles from the Pacific between San Diego and Tijuana, federal contractors recently filled Smuggler's Gulch - a notorious smuggling route - with almost 2 million cubic yards of dirt in order to permit the installation of a triple fence, sensors and stadium lights in the previously un-fenced canyon. I haven't yet been able to determine if there are plans in place to continue the fence up this mountain. Given that this region is home to the endangered Peninsular Desert Bighorn, I'm sure it would be a long hard battle before anyone agreed to create a significant impact on the environment.

Out of fence and with no trail over the mountain at this point, we decided to head north to seek out another trail that would take us into the mountains to see if we could pick up the fence again.

Nothing after the jump.

Eagle Mountain Railroad

2009-02-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Eagle Mountain Railroad (EMRR) was a private, 51 mile long railroad owned by Kaiser Steel which was used from 1948 to 1986 to move iron ore from the Eagle Mountain Mine in Riverside County to an interchange with the Southern Pacific Railroad. One of the longest privately owned railroads in the country, it is currently owned by Kaiser Steel's successor, Kaiser Ventures.

This railroad bridge is where the rail line crosses the Bradshaw Trail not far from the Salton Sea.

Two Burt Lancaster movies were filmed along a portion of the Eagle Mountain Railroad. In 1966 Columbia Pictures filmed several scenes for The Professional and in 1986 Touchstone Films filmed the movie The Tough Guys along stretch of the rail line.

While doing some research on the railroad I discovered that the ghost town of the Eagle Mountain Mine supposedly has more standing buildings than the well-known town of Bodie, but that very few people know about it and it doesn't get many visits. I can't wait to go find it and will be planning a trip for it soon.

Nothing after the jump.

Flying Cloud

2009-02-15T08:20:00.001-08:00

Saw this Airstream Flying Cloud trailer parked on a ridge overlooking an expanse of nothingness when we took a short detour to the Houser Geode Beds near Wiley's Well near the east end of the Bradshaw Trail in the Sonoran Desert. I love that even the new models have a vintage, retro look about them. Here in California where hippies are alive and flourishing, I can't help but smile every time I see an Airstream trailer, and maybe sing a little Grateful Dead.

Near by is the Mule Mountain Long Term Visitor Area, where for the price of $180 snowbirds can park their trailers for up to seven months (September 15 - April 15). There was a good sized crowd when we drove by. Now if I were going to set up home in the middle of nowhere, I wouldn't want to be surrounded by a crowd of people. I supposed it's a cheap way to go if you're living a nomadic life and still crave the company of others. But in my book, the owner of this Flying Cloud did it right.

Nothing after the jump.

Yet there the nightingale...

2009-02-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

...filled all the desert with inviolable voice,
And still she cried, and still the world pursued...

A long stretch of the Bradshaw Trail through the Sonoran Desert in Riverside County, California follows closely along the border of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, where live bombing exercises are conducted. The bombing range is well marked (in both English and Spanish, for this area is close to the Mexican border), but one has to wonder if the bombs lying along the side of the trail were left there by the military as curiosities for travelers, or mistakes that missed their target.

And yes, the quote is once again from T. S. Elliot's The Wasteland. :)

Nothing after the jump.

Crossing

2009-02-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

A Heap of Broken Images

2009-01-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

A heap of broken images, where the sun beats...

T.S. Elliot just always seems so appropriate for the Mojave desert. No sun this day, though.

The images are from remains of an F-4D Phantom that crashed in the Crucero region of the Mojave Desert over 40 years. ago. I find it amazing that so much of the wreckage is still in place, and I have to wonder why the military never cleaned it up. We were able to locate the crash site a few weeks ago while taking 27 other jeeps on a tour of the area. It was overcast most of the day, and it rained hard while we were at this crash site. Not the best day for photography, but I think in this case it adds to the mood of the images.

P.S. - I know that I was supposed to post the images from Inscription Canyon and finish that trail report. To be honest, I got caught up in researching Native American rock art, and then found a scientific imaging program for the enhancement of rock art and have been playing around with that a bit. Rather than wait any longer to post while I organize my thoughts and images, I figured it was best to just keep moving along with some of the others images I've been creating.

Nothing after the jump.

Black Mountain Rock Art District, Part III - Scouts Cove

2009-01-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

From our last stop we continued along the trail through Black Canyon. This section of Black Canyon Road wraps around the western side of Black Mountain, first through a sandy wash and later alongside a lava flow. Our next stop was at the site of the Black Canyon Stage Station. There was little to see here but the snow was deep enough for the kids to have a friendly snowball fight.

There is no water source at the Stage Stop, which is perhaps the reason it did not last. About a mile and half further down the trail is the Black Canyon Well (also known as Dove Springs and Pigeon Springs) and a stone trough. At one time there was also a windmill, but that has long since disappeared. It's not known for certain when the well was dug; the first public record is dated 1915 but it is thought to have been dug in the 1870's during the Death Valley mining boom. Apparently once the well was dug the stage began stopping at this location instead of the original Stage Stop. There is another Tillman signature at this site - "A. & J. Tillman, Sep. 30, 1974".

We couldn't find the trail to the famous Birdman petroglyph (perhaps access is being restricted), so in another mile we took a side trail to Scouts Cove, an opal mining camp that was financed by the Tiffany Jewelry Company of New York during the turn of the century. The Scouts Cove Mine shaft was one of the first chosen by the State of California for remediation due to the danger of the open shaft and it was filled in early 2003, but Opal Mountain is still popular with rockhounds for fire opal and jasper. Small pieces of fire opal were easy to find and we each left with a pocket full of tiny pieces and a few good nuggets. I keep thinking that one of these days I should buy a tumbler and polish some of my finds so at least they look better on display.

The most unusual feature at Scouts Cove are the tufa mounds. Tufa, like that found at Mono Lake and Trona Pinnacles, are calcium carbonate deposits - exactly the same material as stalagmites. But tufa has a spongier texture and is formed differently. Almost all methods of tufa formation require water so I'm speculating that this area was at one time under water, but I haven't been able to find any information to confirm that.

A shelter was dug in one of the tufa mounds. There are two holes in the roof, one for the fireplace and one for ventilation. Of course the sun was on the opposite side from the entrance, sorry for the bad light in this shot:

I found a copy of Desert Magazine from November 1958 that showed a photo of what was called the Scouts Cove Dugout. It appears to be this same structure, but at that time the entrance was elaborately framed with rocks, including an arch. I suppose those are the rocks seen lying at the base of the structure now. One can only wonder if the damage was done by vandals or the harsh environment. The 1958 photos of the Scouts Cove area are really neat to see and I found the accompanying article fascinating so I've embedded here if you're interested. The article begins on Page 18 and the photo of the shelter is on Page 21.

195811 Desert Magazine 1958 November

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Religion & Spiritual Other History

I'll conclude this trip with photos from Inscription Canyon tomorrow. If you want to visit Scouts Cove, here is a map of its location:

View Larger Map

Nothing after the jump.

Black Mountain Rock Art District, Part II - Black Canyon

2009-01-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

Our adventure through the Black Mountain Rock Art District in the Mojave began in Hinkley, 7 miles west of Barstow, where we picked up Black Canyon Road. The beginning of our route follows Desert #21 - Black Canyon Road in Massey and Wilson's BackCounty Adventures (see sidebar), but in reverse. Movie buffs might know that Hinkley was the setting for Erin Brockovitch, starring Julia Roberts.

This is a brutally harsh environment, and as we stop at the trailhead to air down and disconnect I can't help but think about the stories of the people who choose to live out here. There is not an easy place to live.

I have to admit that I've often thought about building a little ranch out here, tempted by the quiet, the solitude and the stars overhead, but I'm not sure I have what it takes to survive the summers unless I were to become a creature of the night. And I think I would soon miss the beach and the grocery stores.

On a scale of 1-10, Black Canyon Road is rated a 10 for its scenic value and a 3 for the terrain difficulty, but you need to be aware that the trail crosses several dry lakes. Caution is advised if you attempt it when the lake beds are wet because they quickly turn to a quagmire of deep, gripping mud that will bog a vehicle down. A properly equipped vehicle, advanced mud driving skills and recovery equipment are a necessity if you attempt to drive across the lake beds when they are wet.

As we crossed Harper Dry Lake the trail was more like a stream than a track and it became obvious that the recent snowstorm was going to make the terrain a bit more challenging than the easy drive we had anticipated. No worries, even the one stock jeep in our group was equipped with recovery gear and everyone was excited to see the desert blanketed with snow and ready to handle whatever came out way.

The Black Mountain Rock Art District is located between Superior and Water Valleys and contains the largest concentration of Native American rock art in the Mojave Desert. There are an estimated 12,000+ petroglyphs and a very small number of pictographs placed here over the past 12,000 years. This is an area of high volcanic activity and the basalt lava flow walls covered in desert varnish are the perfect canvas for the engravings. Large deposits of quartz and other hard minerals also made this an ideal location for making the stone tools needed to create the petroglyphs. The outer layer of patina-covered stone is removed to reveal the lighter colored rock below. The various styles of art work represent the many cultures who used the area over the years. The area was utilized by Archaic people many thousands of years ago.Then came the Southern Paiute, the Shoshone and historically the Kawaiisu people. The Rock Art District is on the National Register of Historic Places and protected by federal law against vandalism and artifact removal.

At our first stop as we entered Black Canyon the work of vandals was obvious. There were many petroglyphs riddled with bullet marks and damaged by people attempting to remove them. The good thing is that this was the only spot where we noticed any significant damage. I'm glad that destructive idiots never seem to be willing to venture too deep into the wild.

There are many interesting ideas and theories about the interpretation of rock art symbols. Not all of the experts agree and I won't pretend to even be able to say for certain what style a glyph is. But it is fun to look at a panel and imagine the story behind it:

In the photo above I see a bighorn sheep and a hunter and I imagine the circle above as the sun. Below left is a symbol that I've seen interpreted several times as a water glyph that points direction to the nearest water source, but have also seen interpreted as an atlatl (an ancient weapon that predates the bow-and-arrow) or as an opening in the rock where a shaman enters the spirit world. I haven't yet found an interpretation for the symbol the on the lower right. Left to my own imagination I see it as rain since that symbol has always represented water to me, and water on its side would be rain.

I found these bighorn sheep glyphs with bent legs interesting. One archaeologist called them man-sheep. Unfortunately these are some of the petroglyphs that have been damaged by vandals. You can see bullet marks on the rock and the damage caused by someone attempting to chip out and remove the glyph.

Older petroglyphs naturally eventually become revarnished and are harder to see and photograph. These older anthropomorphic figures were a little more faded:

There are several more recent, yet historical carvings in the rock as well. One well-known signature is that of A. Tillman, a teamster who regularly traveled the Black Canyon route during the silver boom of the late 1800's. He left his signature in several places throughout this area. This one in Black Canyon is dated July 1874:

This next one caught my eye, of course initially because of the jeep, but also because it was well done:

I found another Desert Foxes signature in another section of the Rock Art District later in the day. It was fun to think what it would've been like to explore this area in a jeep back in the 60's. I imagine it wasn't much different than it is today.

It also got me thinking about man's desire to leave his mark on these rock walls over the years, and at what point do these etchings cease to be considered graffiti and instead become artwork of historical significance. What makes the Desert Foxes glyph any different from those of Native Americans, other than when they were created? And along that line, what will future generations think of the fact that we stopped "writing on the wall" in the mid 1980's? Some interesting ethical dilemmas present themselves along that line of thought, and I've been in touch with an archaeologist who has kindly provided me with additional reading and study sources. I think I may have the kernel of a project in here somewhere, I just need to do more studying and thinking to refine exactly what it is that I have to say.

I'll leave off here and continue the trail in my next post. If you've read this far I would like to appeal for your feedback on something that I'm having a difficult time figuring out; would you rather see an entire Trail Report all in one post no matter the length, or do you prefer it broken into smaller chunks? Does this post give you too much information, or not enough? I stopped when I had reached just over 1,000 words and I've been told that an ideal post length is 400-700 words, so I know that I'm pushing the limit. I really would like to know from my readers if you would prefer that I make each Trail Report one post with less information.

Coming up next: Scouts Cove and the Opal Mountain Mine

Nothing after the jump!

Black Mountain Rock Art District, Part I - Casa Del Desierto and the Route 66 Museum

2009-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

The fickle southern California winter weather we've been experiencing lately has put a bit of a damper on our trail schedule this year. Between rain, snow, wind, wildfires and the holidays things never seemed to work out. So it was with a severe case of cabin fever that we found ourselves meeting up with the WayOfLife family in the bitter pre-dawn hours a few days before Christmas to head out to the wilds of the Mojave desert and brave the unknown elements. A rare winter storm had brought heavy snow to southern California as low as 2,000 feet and we had no idea what conditions would be in the desert. Destination: the Black Mountain Rock Art District, known to have the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the Mojave.

My jeep knows the route by heart; the 5 to the 405 to the 133 to the 241 to the 91 to the 15 to the 40. Stop at Coco's in Barstow for breakfast, where the food is good, the service is friendly, and they never have a problem fitting in a group of rowdie jeepers excited to get out on the trail. It's more relaxed than usual this time; just the five of us before we head off to meet up with two more couples suffering from cabin fever and bold enough to brave the weather. Barstow is snow-covered, a first for us and a sign of things to come. (Interesting note: Barstow was named for the president of the Santa Fe Railroad, William Barstow Strong.)

After our leisurely breakfast we drove over to the Route 66 Museum housed in the historic Casa Del Desierto Harvey House at 681 N. First Avenue. It's still early; the museum is not yet open and the rest of our group hasn't arrived so we spend some time exploring the gorgeous architecture of the building. The original alignment of Route 66 - The Mother Road - ran in front of this magnificent building listed on the National Register of Historic Place, that is, until the Sante Fe Railroad actually bought the road and moved it to it's current location.

Harvey Houses were a chain of railway hotels and restaurants built by English immigrant Fred Harvey in the American Southwest. Harvey began the chain in 1870, and at it's peak there were 84. Opened in 1911, Casa del Desierto (House of the Desert) was the jewel of the chain and provided luxurious rooms and gourmet food to Sante Fe Rail travelers stopping in Barstow. It had replaced a previous Harvey House that was built in 1887 but burnt to the ground in 1908. During the heyday of Route 66, the grand ballroom was host to many of the town's dances and social events. Female employees, called Harvey Girls, were renowned for their friendliness and hospitality. They were required to take a vow not to marry while employed and their contracts contained other morals clauses.

WWII started the decline of the Harvey Houses; food rationing, a decline in standards, quality and practices all contributed. When trains began serving meals on board the Harvey Houses fell into further decline. The train ticket office closed in 1973 when air travel overtook rail travel, and Casa Del Desierto became yet another abandoned and derelict building along the historic Mother Road. The Sante Fe Railway wanted to tear it down in the late 1980s, but public outcry urged the city of Barstow to save the building and restoration began. It was rededicated in 1999, and now houses the Greyhound and Amtrak stations, the Western American Rail Museum and the Route 66 "Mother Road" Museum.

The museum, founded in 2000, is only open Fridays and Saturdays 10-4 and Sundays 11-4. It charges no admission but does accept donations. It contains a wealth of Route 66 memorabilia and artifacts and some fantastic displays of Route 66 photography, both old and new. They have a very large selection of books containing everything from Route 66 history and photography, field guides for the local area and trail guides for the Mojave desert including autographed copies of the Bill Mann series. The volunteers staffing the museum are friendly and knowledgeable and I engaged in a lengthy conversation about the best trails and places to offroad near Barstow to see more interesting historical sights. WayOfLife bought a few more Bill Mann books (see sidebar) and I bought a Mojave Desert wildflower field guide (one can never have too many field guides!).

After spending much longer than we had anticipated exploring the museum, we headed back to our jeeps to find the trailhead that would take us to the Black Mountain Rock Art District.

To be continued....

nothing after the jump

Using Wordles as an SEO tool

2009-01-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on wrapping up the photos and research from our trip to the Black Mountain Rock Art District. Needed to take a break from editing and decided to create a Wordle from my December blog posts.

Wordles are fun; you can point it to any web page to pull the words (or you can type words in manually). You can play around with the shape of the cloud, edit the font, and use custom colors (like I did here to match my blog). One hint, if you want to save it you will need to do a screen print and paste your Wordle into an image editing program.

I also find Wordles useful as a tool. I like having a graphic representation of the words I used most frequently during my last posts. It lets me see what I've been talking about, know if I'm obsessing over the wrong thing, and lets me think about the effect of those words on my SEO. For example, I can see that I've used the words photographer, photographers, photographing and photography, and I can also see that most of the other words are about the subjects I like to photograph. I had created a Wordle a few months ago and wasn't happy about the results. That led me to realize that I needed to pay more attention to the topics of successive posts to make sure that my front page wasn't overly populated with words that won't generate the search results I desire.

So next time you need a break, have some fun and give it a try. Does your blog Wordle say what you want it to say? Feel free to post a link here to share your Wordle.

Nothing after the jump.

A plea to my fellow outdoor photographers

2008-12-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

In my previous corporate career I had the opportunity to live all over this vast country of ours and develop intimate knowledge of and appreciation for the various geographies. When I landed out here in California I immediately recognized how privileged we folks in the West are to have such vast regions that remain virtually untouched since prehistoric times. I can ride for days and never see another human being, and see the earth as it always was, unscarred except by Mother Nature and the occasional tribe of Indians. I have an intense passion for the magic and wonder of our natural world. The more I explore and learn about it, the more curious I become. Whether you attribute it to science, God or some combination of both, you can't help but be amazed at the forces at work. It is an honor and privilege to see the things I've seen in my adventures.

Now I am not a treehugger by the commonly understood definition of the term, but I do strongly care about protecting our natural world. I have a responsibility to protect that which I so cherish and am privileged to share in. I am even more keenly aware of this because I venture offroad and am always dealing with access issues. Although I prefer to hike, I bought my jeep so I could venture even farther to places that would require days or even weeks to hike. I wanted to explore places that few people get to see. I strictly follow Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly principles, and insist that others with me do as well. I want to keep access open for everyone so that others can follow me and see the wonders that I have seen, and I want it to remain in the same (or better) condition for future generations. In order to do that we all need to act responsibly and take good care of this great earth.

So it pained me this morning to read a fellow photographer's blog and see that a group of photographers, including the very well-known Alain Briot, trekked out to the Racetrack in Death Valley after the rain and proceeded to walk onto the playa, leaving behind deep footsteps that will remain for years. Worse yet, said photographer posted incriminating photos of the damaging footprints on her blog and joked about it. There are warning signs posted in several locations reminding people of the long term damage that will occur by walking onto the playa when it is wet, yet this group of photographers either did not take the time to learn about the environment in which they were photographing or chose to ignore the damage in their quest for the perfect shot. "Leave only footprints" doesn't mean leave footprints that will remain for the next ten years or so. That group of photographers has ruined this magical place for everyone who follows, for many years. In addition, they have jeopardized access for everyone, as it wouldn't surprise me if over-zealous California officials decide to place the area off limits to everyone since a few people failed to follow the rules. It wouldn't be the first time something like this has occurred.

My plea to my fellow outdoor photographers is to please, please take the time to learn about the environment in which you will be photographing before trekking out and do your part to minimize damage to our environment. There is just no excuse for doing irreparable damage in your quest for the money shot. Ignorance is not an excuse, and selfishness will not be tolerated. I am saddened and tired of seeing areas shut down to photographers and others because people do not take the necessary care of our great earth.

In addition to not walking on playas when they are wet, here are a few other things photographers and other outdoor adventurers should be aware of when venturing in the southwest:

Cryptobiotic soil crusts - All but invisible to the untrained eye, cryptobiotic soil crusts, comprised mostly of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) but also include lichens, mosses, green algae, microfungi, and bacteria, play a vital role in the desert's health. The filaments formed by the cyanobacteria help control erosion by keeping the soil in place. They also absorb precious rainfall and provide nutrients to the ecosystem. The soil crust is easily damaged by a footprint, and a damaged crust may take up to seven years to return! If you've never seen cryptobiotic soil before, look for lumpy black dirt. When in an area with cryptobiotic soil stay on established trails, and if you must walk through an area with a thick crust please do so single file to minimize damage. Please don't set up camp, drive a vehicle or do anything else that will cause damage to these fragile crusts.

Wildlife - Nothing angers me more than seeing another photographer cause undue stress to wildlife. When I came across a large herd of endangered Peninsular Desert Bighorn Sheep in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, I was careful to set up my tripod far away on the other side of the stream and to use the appropriate telephoto lens. Next thing I know some idiot who didn't have a telephoto lens attempted to sneak right up to the some of the sheep so he could get a better shot, obviously causing some agitation in the herd. And yes, I voiced my opinion to him and chased him off. People, there are less than 600 of these animals left in the world, some estimate the number closer to 300. If you want to photograph wildlife, get used to carrying that big heavy lens and tripod, and leave immediately if the animals start acting stressed. End of story.

Same thing goes for bird photography. Please respect the signs when an area is posted as off limits during nesting season. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a photographer in an off-limits area to get close-up shots of nesting birds, especially in La Jolla. You are giving all of us a bad name! Why do you think that the rules apply to everyone except you?

Rockpiles - Yes, rockpiles. Silly, isn't it? I can't tell you how many times I've seen people dismantle rock piles. Especially if they are accompanied by children, who just can't seem to resist taking the rocks and throwing them. When you find a pile of rocks in the desert, chances are fairly good it is one of the three things; a cairn used to mark a trail (and vitally important to desert hikers), a marker for a mining claim or an Indian artifact. Someone dismantled a rockpile in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park last year, possibly thinking it hid a geocache, possibly not. It turned out to be an Indian artifact and we are still fighting over access issues a year later. Some people say that artifacts should be marked as such; I'm in the camp that would rather see things in their natural environment, not littered with signs. Look, but don't touch.

Tidepools - We have a wealth of amazing tidepools here along the southern California coast, filled with all sorts of neat creatures. One of the best is in Little Corona del Mar (Newport Beach), a protected Marine Life Refuge where an on-going battle is being waged between photographers and the homeowners who claim that photographers are destroying the tidepools. Commercial photography requires a license, but even non-commercial photographers have reported being chased away by homeowners. I have been stopped and questioned every time I have been out at Little CDM, but I always seem to "pass the test" because I am knowledgeable about the environment, show that I care about the tidepools as much as the residents do, and never set my tripod up in the tidepools or do anything else that would cause damage to the fragile environment. I'm glad that the homeowners chase away anyone who doesn't show the same respect.

These are just a few things off the top of my mind. I hope it goes with saying to pick up your garbage and any you find. I'm sure there are many other examples, please share yours.

Nothing after the jump.

More Mojave Magic

2008-12-22T13:41:00.001-08:00

Just a few more shots for the folks who have asked for them. Too many distractions today and I'm having a hard time getting through all of my processing.

Jeeps for my off-road fans:

The ice in the water made it difficult to get a good clean shot of all four jeeps together no matter what angle I tried:

You know that I'm a firm proponent of Leave No Trace - the trail runs right through the center of this normally dry lake bed (the way the Mojave Road runs through the middle of Soda Dry Lake), and we did not take the jeeps anyplace we should not have been. And it's because of this that we did not shuffle around to try to get the ice out of the photos; I just chose to deal with it.

Nothing after the jump.

Mojave Rorschachs

2008-12-21T22:03:00.000-08:00

Just a little tease while I finish processing the photos from yesterday's run out to the Black Mountains of the Mojave Desert. Last week's winter storm dumped an amazing amount of snow in the desert, and at a "dry" lake bed we found this magical scene -

The elevation here was a little over 3,000 feet.

A huge thank you to my friends who were willing to hang out until dark despite the freezing temp so I could capture the changing light. It was a thrilling ride in the dark back to pavement!

I'm still working on the rest of the photos (277 in all) and hope to get the trail report posted tomorrow.

Nothing after the jump.

Some videos from the trail and a camp recipe

2008-12-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

We have canceled our trail plans so many times over the past few weeks due to weather, illness, schedule problems, etc. that I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms. We will definitely be out on the trail again next weekend, no matter what happens. And it will be a scenic trip with lots of photographs.

In the meantime I wanted to share two trail videos put together by my friend Cindy at Project-JK. Sure, WayOfLife posts them, but make no mistake, Cindy is the one behind the scenes doing all of the camera work and editing, and she does an awesome job.

Since I've had so many people e-mail asking about Coyote Canyon, this first video is from our 2007 Newbie run. It's funny for me to see how far our jeeps have grown since this video was shot. What a difference a year makes!

When the credits start rolling you'll see me demonstrating how to make my near world famous omelets in a bag. This is my favorite camp breakfast because there is no cleanup required and it takes up hardly any in the cooler. Just put your eggs in a ziploc freezer bag (it MUST be a freezer bag) and add whatever you desire; cheese, bacon, sausage, onions, peppers, mushrooms, s&p...then squish it all up together. Then seal the ziploc, roll it up tightly and throw it in the cooler. Come breakfast time, just place the bag in boiling water. The eggs will set best if you periodically give the bag a squeeze (it's hot, be careful and use a towel or something). Don't let the bag touch the sides of the pot; some people like to use a laundry pin or the like to clip the bag to the pot handle. Cooking time depends on temperature and elevation, but it's not long. If you really want to save on cleanup you can eat it right out of the bag, or you can roll your fluffy omelet onto a plate.

This second one I had to share even though I missed this trip just because it is awesome and Cindy just posted it yesterday. If you like hard core rock crawling you will love this video from the Niagara Rim trail in the Stanislaus National Forest deep in the heart of the Sierras. With obstacle names like No Way Out, Hard Brake Hill and Sidewall Suicide, you know this is a challenging and difficult trail.

Nothing after the jump.

As We Are

2008-12-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. ~ Anais Nin

Nothing after the jump.

Additional Info on Coyote Canyon Trail in ABDSP

2008-12-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

One of my readers requested some additional information on the location of the Coyote Canyon Trail I had written about a few weeks ago. Shame on me for not including it in my original post!

Coyote Canyon is located in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park 7.6 miles north of Borrego Springs. From Christmas Circle* (I love that name!) you want to head north on Borrego Springs Road. After a bit more than 3 miles you will bear right to join Henderson Canyon Road. At 4.5 miles, at the T intersection, you will turn left on DiGiorgio Road and take it all the way to the end. When you see this sign:

...the trailhead is directly in front of you. If you have a copy of Massey and Wilson's Backcountry Adventures - Southern California (and if you live in SoCal and own a jeep, you will love this book), the South Coyote Canyon trail is Trail #25 in the South Coast section.

*According to wikimapia, Christmas Circle was named in honor of the birth of Salvador Ignacio Linares in Coyote Canyon on Christmas Eve in 1775. It is a large traffic roundabout with a park in the center.

That's it for now!

Pride Goeth Before a Fall

2008-11-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

My blog is called OffTopic for a reason; although I stick with subjects related to photography, I reserve the right to write about whatever happens to be on my mind. Hey, at least I'm not just regurgitating information from other blogs or websites, right? ;) In a radical departure from my usual tone I'm going to vent today. Sorry, can't help it. I just turned down an opportunity to shoot a multi-million dollar house because I know that I do not have the skills to pull off an architectural shoot of that caliber and do it justice. I am not an architectural photographer. I do, however, know someone who is a fantastic architectural photographer who will do justice to a $15 million home (and yes, that name was passed on).

What got me going is repeatedly having to deal with the growing acceptance of mediocrity as the expected norm in all areas of our lives. I could go on and on with examples; it's become incredibly pervasive. It's probably my number one pet peeve. There was a time when I used to let this kind of thing go; I used to just shake my head, chuckle to myself while mumbling something unkind and then move on. But I'm just getting a little tired of it.

This time it was Rangefinder Magazine that set me off. Rangefinder calls itself "The Magazine for Professional Photographers", so I hold it to high standards. Recently they have been publishing a monthly series of articles on Profitable Website Management written by a professional photographer who also has a background in "Web development", among other things (sales, information security...). I'm not naming names...if you want to know you will have to do the research yourself. It's not my style to call people out that way and the information is relatively easy to find.

The October article (yes, I am that far behind in my reading) was about blogging applications. That's a great topic since more and more photographers are discovering how to integrate blogging into their overall marketing plan, and many stock photographers specifically are starting to consider the importance of having their own website so they are not relying solely on the agencies any more.

Now I don't know about you, but when I read an article written by someone claiming to know what he/she is talking about, in a magazine aimed at professionals, I expect the information to be accurate. Especially when the information given is stated as fact, not opinion. And most especially when the author starts out by denigrating other photographers' blogs, making the statement that they don't know any better or just don't care.

So I was really surprised to see that this "expert" made the statement that free blogging applications are unsuitable for professional purposes, one of the main reasons being the amount of advertisements the application places on the free blogs. This expert stated that the only applications that were worthwhile for business purposes were the ones that cost money. That statement really bothered me because a lot of folks who don't know any better will read that, believe it, and needlessly spend money. And in this tough economy no one needs to spend money if they don't have to. It may even lead some folks to decide that they can't start a blog because they can't afford one of the paid blogging applications, which is a real shame.

I took a look at the author's blog (it's called research and fact checking, something from which both the author and Rangefinder could benefit). It is a Xanga blog that has been up and running for a little more than six months. I'm going to guess that the author paid for an upgraded version since there is no advertising on his blog. There are several broken/dead end links. While the blog is all about photography, his bio lists a completely unrelated occupation. And yes, there are posts on his blog talking about the poor job other photographers do with their websites.

Let me be clear, I do NOT claim to be an expert at websites and blogs. Less than a year ago I knew only very basic html and absolutely nothing about CSS. I'm still finding my way around in this world and I'm always trying to learn as much as possible. I am in no position to criticize anyone else's blog. But when I look at my free Blogger blog and the authors paid blog, I've gotta tell you that I like my free blog a whole lot better than his paid one. It's completely integrated with my website, there is absolutely no advertising on it (I still can't figure out why he said that), I can customize it any way I want to for FREE, anything that is there is there because I want it to be there (no dead end links) and if I were to obtain a domain name for it I'd doubt that many people would be able to tell that it was a free Blogger blog. So it really pains me that the author states that free blogs are worthless.

The author also advocates uploading photos to a blog, rather than linking them, to save time. I have two issues with this. First, clicking on any of the uploaded photos takes the viewer to a page that is useless from a business perspective. Usually it is just a browser window with that image, some of the authors' images take you to page where you can comment on the photo. By taking the time to create a link, one can lead the viewer directly to the image or gallery on your website. Uploading the photos also doesn't allow one to utilize ALT text. Not only is ALT text strongly recommended for all images on a webpage, it has a tremendous impact on search engine results. Google spiders can't see pictures! Maybe this isn't quite as important for a wedding/portrait photographer, but isn't the whole point of a blog to drive traffic to your website, and therefore drive business? Why have the images linked to a dead end page? I think these are very important things to address in an article that purports to instruct photographers how to set up a blog for business purposes. Do yourself a favor, take the time to properly place your images in your blog. You will be amazed at the increase in search result hits.

Like I said earlier, I did do some research and I read through some of the authors blog posts. I know the background of how and why this series of articles was written. It reminded me of a guy (or woman) who's had a digital camera for a year and decides that he is ready to start shooting weddings. Rangefinder is the one who said "yes, we'll hire you". I'm only mad at the author because he has a habit of trashing others. If you're going to take that stance you'd best be ready to stand up to scrutiny. Sorry if that's mean.

I'm reminded of an acquaintance who is a graphic designer by trade. She enjoys point-and-shoot photography and she has a great eye, as one would expect of a graphic designer. She does not, however, know the first thing about even the most basic technical aspects of photography (such as apertures and shutter speeds). She recently had a client who needed some furniture photographed for a brochure, and (I suppose) to save the client money my acquaintance did it herself instead of hiring a photographer. It was a white sofa on a green lawn on a sunny day. Anyone who knows anything about photography can guess exactly what happened; the green grass looked fantastic and the whites were completely blown out with absolutely no detail. She showed me the brochure with pride, and what was I going to say? Next time hire a real photographer? She didn't even realize that the whites were blown out and apparently her client didn't care. Her client was happy and she got paid, just like the guy who wrote the article with misinformation for Rangefinder got paid.

And yes, I am painfully aware of the irony here.

Another tense weekend in southern California

2008-11-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

We're okay here in south Orange County (so far...), but we have several friends close to the fires up north in the Brea-Yorba Linda-Chino Hills area. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the affected areas. The amount of damage in residential areas has been frightening.

My weekend is booked solid with prior commitments, leaving me no time to try to photograph the fires. As I was driving north yesterday I realized how crazy it was to have the top down on the jeep. If I got near enough, the falling soot and embers could do some serious damage, and even the soft top wouldn't help. I really need to put the hard top on if I plan to get closer to the fires.

Spent yesterday in Huntington Beach. Managed to grab a quick shot in between stops (from a parking lot - ugh! Sorry, only chance I had) of what the sky looked like in the early afternoon. This is the plume of smoke directly overhead; on either side the sky was bright blue. Air quality was horrible and I was happy that we were spending the day indoors.

I can see the plume from my backyard (it's so big that probably everyone in California can see it!) and it looks like the winds have died down in that area for now because it's starting to go vertical. We're still under Red Flag warning until 4:00pm this afternoon. Living in a house surrounded by dry hills, I can't help but scan the horizon on a regular basis.

The sunset last night was gorgeous. I climbed onto the roof of a building but still couldn't get the shot I wanted. By the time we raced to a more suitable location it was too late. On the drive home I saw a blood red moon but by the time I had stopped it had already cleared. Having a tough time being in the right place at the right time this weekend. Hoping to try to fit in some shooting this evening, but not sure if my schedule will accommodate.

Nothing after the jump.

Urgent Update to My LicenseStream Review

2008-11-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

When I initially reviewed ImageSpan's LicenseStream here on my blog I had mentioned that one of my concerns was the inability to see how images are priced when using the automated interface. However, since I had tested a few scenarios and received quotes that I felt were reasonable, I decided to implement the automation and trust that everything would be okay.

Since my review was published several people have taken the opportunity to test out LicenseStream's interface using my photos, and boy did we get a surprise! While many people reported receiving acceptable price quotes, two photographers let me know about completely outrageous quotes. My thanks to Gary Crabbe of Enlightened Images and Tina Manley for bringing this to my attention. Gary actually received a quote of $10,000 for internal corporate web use, and Tina received a quote $2,000 higher than the price her publisher was complaining about! Real-world pricing is imperative if the automated side of LicenseStream is going to work.

So first, I strongly recommend that if you are using, or contemplating using LicenseStream on your website, you use the "Contact Me" model until ImageSpan puts a fix in place. If a potential buyer received one of those quotes, not only would you lose the sale, you'd probably lose the customer (unless it was someone with whom you had already developed a relationship and who knew it was just an error).

This eliminates the feature that most independent photographers are mainly interested in; the automation. LicenseStream needs to get this addressed ASAP. Based on the feedback that I am hearing, photographers are quickly loosing interest as the word spreads about this problem.

Second, if you have already coded images on your website using the method I explained in this post, I have a very easy way for you to change it that does not require making any changes to your content in LicenseStream itself.

Remember this code we used to create the link directly to your LicenseStream interface?

The "c" that I circled in red indicates the licensing model, in this case Custom License. You may have a "b" or a "p" if you used the Category License or Quick License models. To change it to the "Contact Me" model, all you need to do is change that letter to an "r". Still a bit time consuming in that you will need to do this for each image you've linked to LicenseStream, but not nearly as bad as needing to use LicenseStream to regenerate the code or change any settings.

One more thing I wanted to mention, really prompted by Gary Crabbe's post in which he stated that he found the licensing interface clunky. I had to think about that for a while because it seemed natural to me, and then I realized it was because I have been using the PLUS license generator, and later the embedder and decoder, since they were in beta. The LicenseStream license generator IS the PLUS license generator, so it was natural for me to use.

If you are not familiar with the PLUS Coalition and the license generator and embedder, I encourage you to become so. It was announced this morning that three major publishers are adopting the PLUS standards, and they have encouraged all photographers to begin embedding PLUS-generated licenses within the year.

Nothing after the jump. I'm off to change my letters!

South Coyote Canyon, Sheep Camp and The Slot - Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Part II

2008-11-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

Yikes, I have been crazy busy lately!

In an effort to speed things along here and get back on track, I'm going to fast track to Day 2 and The Slot in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Our evening in Sheep Camp was spent socializing, so in my role as a mentor I didn't get an opportunity to sneak away to shoot. Sunrise and sunset isn't the best at Sheep Camp anyway because it is surrounded by mountains; it loses the light too early in the afternoon, and it doesn't get sun in the morning until after the magic hour.

The big surprise of the night was having Mel and Lisa Wade of Offroad Evolution show up in the middle of the night with the kids in tow. Mel has been doing some absolutely incredible must-have stuff for the JK's and I know he had been very busy getting ready for SEMA, so it was really great that they found the time to come hang out with us for the weekend. I'll bet the South Coyote Canyon trail was a lot more fun to do in the dark!

The next morning most of the remaining group head back home early, but a few of us stuck around to run another trail and do a little hiking before getting back on the road. WayOfLife chose The Slot because it's a scenic trail with a narrow slot canyon to explore and we always appreciate the opportunity to get out and stretch our legs.

The Slot is on the other side of Borrego Springs on the east side of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and it winds its way through a tilted Borrego Formation Sandstone. The trail is easy and incredibly scenic as it overlooks the badlands. The only challenging spot is a descent down a very steep and loose sand hill that is really much easier than it looks. Bill still had the wheel so I jumped out to grab some shots of the jeeps, and I must say that the jeeps had an easier time getting down that hill than I did on foot!

We let this guy pass through so he didn't have to wait for the line of jeeps:

We decided to stop when the slot narrowed. Although it is possible to drive further in (if you don't mind risking a little body damage), with eight jeeps we needed to leave ourselves sufficient turn-around room.

The Slot is thought to have started as a crack or joint during the deformation of the badlands, the slot forming as runoff funneled into the crack, deepening it more than widening it. It gets incredibly narrow in some spots and you have to literally squeeze your way through.

The sun was shining on the upper walls of The Slot, but down below it was cool and shaded, a nice relief from the warm 95 degree desert day. Yeah, I forgot to mention on Day 1 that the temperature was a bit higher than expected. Not bad, unless you're working hard to set up camp in the middle of the day!

Owls and ravens love to build their nests up on the ledges and the floor of The Slot is littered with feathers and other evidence.

I would not want to be standing under here during an earthquake. Something to always keep in mind when hiking out here. This area was hit with a 4.2 magnitude quake on April 30, 2008, strong enough to jostle a few rocks loose.

After hiking through The Slot, we managed to get the jeeps turned around (my 2DR had a much easier time than the 4DRs did!) and start heading back toward pavement.

WayOfLife, Mel Wade, and Trailbud at the front of the line. Those bags on the back of our jeeps are burlap trash sacks WayOfLife made up for us. We use them to haul our trash out of camp, as well as cleanups along the trail anywhere we see trash. Unfortunately mine has been used so much that this was its last trip; it started shredding and ended up in the dumpster with the rest of the trash. I'm going to have to get WayOfLife to divulge his source because I don't know what I'm going to do without it.

It really is quite beautiful back here:

Back on pavement we aired up and head into town for a relaxing lunch out of the heat. That's when I found out that my control arm bushings were shot, which explained why my jeep had been handling the way it was on the road. Now my rear axle was rolling every time I stepped on the gas or the brake. Trailbud knew exactly what the problem was when I said it was clunking when I stepped on the gas, so at least it was easy to identify. FT sent me upgraded replacements and we finally got them put in last weekend.

So it was another successful trip with no carnage, lots of fun and great camaraderie. It was fun to meet so many new people and introduce them to what we like do (although there were a few I never did get to meet before they left that afternoon), and I hope many of them decide to join us for other trips. I bought the jeep for my photography, but I've made so many good friends because of it that I don't even mind putting my photography in the back seat once in a while.

Kudos again to WayOfLife and the rest of the mentor team for pulling off a successful event with such an amazingly large group of jeeps. Maybe we need to stop having so much fun to keep the numbers down!

Nothing more after the jump

South Coyote Canyon, Sheep Camp and The Slot - Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Part I

2008-11-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Coyote Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is closed to all use every year between June 1 and September 30 to allow the endangered Peninsular (Desert) Bighorn sheep unrestricted access to the important water source of Coyote Creek. It has become our tradition to venture out to Sheep Camp via the South Coyote Canyon trail shortly after the canyon re-opens every year with the folks from Project-JK, usually as a "newbie" run to introduce others to the desert environment, teach them the proper way to handle and use their jeeps' capabilities on the different types of terrain, talk with them about the necessary gear and equipment for venturing into remote regions of the desert, and reinforce the Leave No Trace principles. We are very privileged in California to have such a diversity of open trails to provide endless opportunity for discovery, but we realize that it comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility to not only do our part to protect the environment, but to teach others as well and maintain a zero-tolerance policy on our outings. For many folks, it is the first time they have taken their jeep off pavement. For others, it is the first time they will forge a deep water crossing and navigate a rocky climb. And there are even others for whom it is the first time they will venture into the desert environment.

The success of past newbie runs has caused an explosion in the number of people signing up. This year's Coyote Canyon run had 30 newbies and 8 mentors, a very large group to coordinate and keep moving on the trail, and I've got to hand it to WayOfLife and the rest of the mentor team for smoothly pulling it off. Less than half of the group chose to spend the night at Sheep Camp, making for a large but manageable group.

Trailbud and I, accompanied by my better half and his son Ryan, were the advance team; we got on the trail about two hours before the main group to check in at the visitor center, make sure there were no surprises on the trail, and to secure the campsite. I let Bill take the wheel since he's done so much work on my jeep the past two weeks and deserves to have a little fun, and we led the way which meant I also got to be the lucky one to jump out and run ahead to make sure the course was clear before proceeding at a blind obstacle. It's much less work to be number two, or at least be the driver and have a passenger to send out! The guys had warned me that we had no time for photos on the way in to camp, but I still managed to grab a few of them on the trail.

The first thing I noticed on this trip was that the Teddy Bear Cholla was so blackened and withered everywhere we went that I initially thought a fire had scorched the desert floor. Teddy Bear Cholla is one of the hardiest and most drought resistant desert plants in Anza-Borrego, and I have never before seen it in such a drastic state. What was really surprising, though, is that the Ocotillo was in bloom. The park reports that September rain (the desert got rain and I didn't???) has resulted in sporadic wildflower blooms in a few areas. That's one of my favorite things about the desert; it has its own seasons and you never know what you will find. I remember finding a carpet of wildflowers in full bloom at Amboy Crater last January.

Most of the South Coyote Canyon trail is loose sand and an easy drive. It's not uncommon to see 2WD and even passenger cars up until the second water crossing, which is 100 yards long and can be quite deep in years with good rain. This year it was only about 18 inches deep. And less experienced drivers who make it past the second crossing are usually deterred by the notorious half mile climb through the steep rocky pinch.

If you had planned to do South Coyote Canyon for the fun of water crossing #2 and the rocky hill climb, I am sad to report that the park service has completley tamed the trail and it is now a mere shadow of its former self. While the crossing is still fun as you drive along the river bed through the green tunnel of trees, all of the big rocks have now been removed from the river bed. No more surprises waiting to catch the unaware. The little ledge at the top of the climb that used to intimidate newbies is no more. Worse than that, the hill climb has had all of the larger rocks boulders removed and is now no more challenging than driving over cobblestones. They even blasted and removed half of the big rock at the top that used to threaten body damage as you navigated the tight bend at the top.

More people will now have access to Sheep Camp, good for them I suppose, but sad for me and those of us who prefer to go places where few others can. Although it's been tamed, it is still a scenic drive through a beautiful area of the desert, and the remote and primitive Sheep Camp will always be one of my favorite places to spend the night. Unfortunately, it no longer makes a good training trail as we had always used the climb to teach proper technique, and proper tire placement is no longer as important as it had been.

Hit the jump for the rest of the trail report.

Since we were making such great time on the trail, despite the photo ban I made the guys stop for the poser shot on the only remaining rock on the climb because it's just not a jeep run without a great flex shot.

Here's Trailbud and his 4DR:

And Bill in my 2DR:

Sheep Camp is located in Sheep Canyon, and is accessed via a side trail off the South Coyote Canyon trail. The trail to the camp is just very loose sand and easy to navigate. Despite stopping to talk to a group of jeepers at the bottom of the climb (they really wanted to check out the JKs, and having both a 2DR and 4DR to show off kept us talking for a good twenty minutes), we made it to Sheep Camp in record time and began setting up. Bill handled the tent while I set up the kitchen area (we always set up one main kitchen area so we can socialize while we cook) and for a change I had the opportunity to take a few photos of this beautiful location before the main group showed up.

Trailbud coming in to camp:

And the surroundings:

This is the actual "camp" itself:

There is a fire ring, and a pit toilet a short hike away. This is where we set up the kitchen. This is also what allows to do the one thing that we always do here and no where else; show trail videos! It's always a big hit with the newbies, and of course the regulars get excited because WayOfLifette makes everyone look like a star in her videos. I didn't get any photos of it this year, but here is a shot I took last year:

Part Two will pick up from here and continue this trail report. I know this is a somewhat strange place to stop, but I don't want to wait any longer between posts and I have a 4:30am wakeup call tomorrow. I can't finish tonight if I want to grab any sleep. ;)