Last Tuesday (April-11) I left my friends in Thatcher, looking forward to spending some time with friends Debbie Merrill and her husband James. I met Debbie when I was working on a book for the San Diego Natural History Museum (the San Diego County Mammal Atlas). My role for the book was to provide images … Read more
Davis Mountains State Park has its origins in the 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps project to help lift the broken economy out of the depression. Miles of trails were constructed across the 2,709 acres of this property, along with a sixteen room lodge. In 1967, 101 campsites were added, including many with full or … Read more
New Year’s Day and Saturday night, I stayed in Terlingua (Texas). I waited there until I could take advantage of my Sunday night reservations for camping in Cottonwood. Saturday morning I drove south to explore the southern reaches of Big Bend. I’d been to the Sam Nail Ranch last March (2020), while on the inbound leg … Read more
When I drove away from the Guadalupe Mountains, I took TX-54 south from US-62 to Van Horn Texas. I kept seeing road signs along the highway saying “The Texas Mountain Trail”. I wanted to drive through the Davis Mountains again. I’d passed through them during my first visit last March (2020) and I wanted to … Read more
After spending most of December in New Mexico, I left The Land of Enchantment after a productive Christmas photo session with Scaled Quail at Bitter Lake NWR outside of Roswell. Last May, I left Texas to take care of business in California. The pandemic pulled the rug from under my plans for exploring many of … Read more
There is a small reserve on the northwestern edge of Albuquerque I have enjoyed since some of my earliest visits to the region. It is the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. Within its grounds are woodlands (called a bosque), open fields, and wetlands with ponds. My previous visits to this reserve have been during … Read more
There is a broad grassy valley running west from the Ramona Airport through Highland Valley. The County of San Diego has seen fit to make a preserve of the land to protect threatened species such as Burrowing Owls and the Stephens’ Kangaroo Rat. Much of the preserve is out-of-bounds for public access. But near the … Read more
Juvenile Western Bluebirds were fun to watch on this Thursday in late August while I visited Santa Rosa Mountain. I find these birds are at their most attractive as juveniles. Feathers are fresh, colors are crisp, and the birds are a little less shy. I found them downslope where the road crosses the Garnet Queen … Read more
Agua Dulce Creek is a popular birding destination for the local San Diego birding community. On my way to visit this place I stopped first at the town center of Mount Laguna and met a Northern Flicker. Repeat visits to many locations is a good strategy for discovering new actors, new scripts and scores on … Read more
There are two sections of land as parts of the Santa Ysabel Open Space Reserves. One is the Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve West north of Rte-78, and the other is the Santa Ysabel East Preserve east of Rte-79 and adjacent to the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve. It was the West Preserve where I spent most … Read more
