Jim Pelley of Ocotillo graciously supplied these photos of the first day of the Ocotillo Express Wind Farm construction. Pattern's Earth Moving equipment has already caused substantial damage to the fragile desert outside of Ocotillo. Crushed Ocotillo plant. Ocotillo plants can live 60 years and there have been reported cases of 100 year old Ocotillo. Unfortunately this one had its' life cut short by Pattern's Earth Moving equipment. Another crushed Ocotillo plant. Good chance this dormant Ocotillo in the foreground won't be standing much longer ... [More]

Ocotillo residents are fighting to preserve 12,500 acres of desert habitat from being destroyed. The 465-foot-tall industrial Wind Turbines would be visible for miles. Large numbers of Ocotillo, the beautiful desert plant that gives the tiny desert town its' name will be destroyed. Picture hundreds of 465 foot tall metal wind turbines as far as the eye can see. Funny part was, when we were driving around the proposed project site this past weekend, there was barely a hint of a breeze. Coincidence?   What's at stake if the Ocotillo Wind project goes thru. Following photos we... [More]

Ocotillo Express Wind Farm Map In case you had any doubt that the Ocotillo Express Wind Farm is a huge project which will destroy miles and miles of desert habitat take a look at this interactive Google Earth Map. Thanks to Mojave Desert BLOG for the image which I then overlaid in Google Earth. Large Version

The Island is one of those areas that we have driven by for twenty years and never stopped. To be honest we are not sure it is even called the Island. It is a freeway island, sandwiched in between the high speed lanes of Interstate 8. The Jacumba Mountains flank its' northern edge while the In-Ko-Pah Gorge lies to south.  Driving east I was surprised to find some late season snow near Pine Valley. Bighorn Sheep, freeway debris, Sunrise Powerlink towers, Native American artifacts, target practice folks and beautiful desert all stuck between the high speed lanes of ... [More]

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors will meet to discuss whether or not to approve the March 28th Planning Commission's recommendation to grant a conditional use permit (CUP) and height variance for more than one hundred 425 ft. tall turbines on 12,000 acres of beautiful desert habitat adjacent to the southern boundary of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and surrounding the village of Ocotillo. We need a very large crowd of people who are opposed to this project to attend this public hearing! Anza-Borrego Desert State Park needs defending!  The park staff comments were suppressed so ... [More]

Short video of Bighorn Sheep near Anza Borrego

We finally had a free weekend, so we decided to drive out to Anza Borrego to see how the wildflowers were progressing. Our plan was to camp in Carrizo Gorge but as we approached the turnoff we noticed at least 20 cars parked at the entrance. Not sure what was going on but we quickly drove by to find some where a bit more secluded. We ended up camping in Indian Valley which was a great choice. We found a great spot set among the blooming Ocotillo plants and set up our camp.  Now onto our  Anza Borrego Wildflower report : The Ocotillo are putting on an amazing display in southern An... [More]

I left the coast on an overcast morning with a cold north wind blowing.  Daren had invited me to check out some pictographs he had found around the Jacumba area so I was excited to make the trip.  Once I hit Lakeside the clouds disappeared and the clear blue skies beckoned me eastward. We had planned to meet at the Subway / gas station in Jacumba , so I arrived a bit early to pick up a sandwich. The place was busy with people heading east towing all types of sand toys. Funny how the desert means different things to different people. To some there is nothing better than blasting up ... [More]

MuMu the FJ40 Land Cruiser conquers the Squeeze in Anza Borrego Pulled this one out of the archives.  Fast forward 17 years later, we still own "MuMu" the Land Cruiser but unfortunately she has been retired to the garage with the occasional trip to the grocery store. :)

Vintage post card of our favorite desert plant, the Ocotillo. (found this on EBay) Some interesting facts about the Ocotillo Plant   Can reach 30 feet tall Sheds its' small green leaves during dry spells. Is pollinated by hummingbirds Generally will bloom March - June, with a display of orange/red tube like flowers  

"Looks like we have some pretty thick fog", Mary commented as we made our way east past Alpine towards Anza Borrego. What started out as an overcast morning on the coast transformed into a damp, drizzly mist that shrouded the freeway. Lucky for us, as we started our descent into the desert town of Ocotillo, the fog lifted and the mountains blocked any further advance of the wet weather. The S2 highway was deserted on this late Monday morning as we headed north towards the Indian Gorge turnoff. The Ocotillo plants swayed in the wind adding motion to an otherwise still desert morning. The... [More]

We left Leucadia on a damp, foggy winter morning in hopes of enjoying some clear desert skies. Our destination was the mud caves at Arroyo Tapiado in the Southern Anza Borrego Desert. The Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves are the result of centuries of rain and flash floods which over time have formed an intricate labrynth of  tunnels , sink holes and slot canyons.  While we have been out to the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves a handful of times, this time the plan was to visit some of the caves we had not yet explored. Once we arrived we established our "base-camp", donned headlamps and ent... [More]

Snapped a closeup of a Monarch Butterfly while we were camping in Carrizo Gorge on Thanksgiving. We also managed to mount the Maggiolina Rooftop Tent onto Mary's Toyota Tacoma which takes a little bit of tweaking. :)    

Borrego Days marks the start of the desert season in Anza Borrego. Temperatures are beginning to drop from their summer highs allowing hikers, campers and 4-wheelers to return and enjoy the beautiful Anza Borrego Desert.  Unlike most of our trips to Anza Borrego, the Maggiolina Rooftop tent, propane stove and other various types of expedition gear were left behind. We had an invite to stay with friends in Borrego Springs at their beautiful rancho style home. (Thanks Jon and Elena)  After a quick morning hike along the old De Anza trail, Mary and I headed over to the Borrego Days fe... [More]

 After driving out to Ocotillo to voice my concerns over the proposed Ocotillo express Wind Farm, I came to realize that the  Bureau of Land Management's definition of "public input" was a bit inconsistent with mine. Representatives from the BLM, Imperial County officials and Pattern Energy were all given center stage, but when it came time for Ocotillo residents and others to voice their concerns, the presentation quickly came to an end.  We were told that this was an informational meeting only and comments would only be accepted via email and letters. Personally I ... [More]