Six years ago, in March of 2006, Heather and I met Mitch and his family for a day trip out to Fish Creek and Sandstone Canyon, in Anza Borrego. This was not my first trip Sandstone Canyon, and would certainly not be my last, but it was one of the more interesting ones - all the more so because of something I just found last week.
First off, here are a few pictures from that day. Back then you could drive a lot further up Sandstone Canyon than you can today. The Park closed off the narrowest section in about 2007. Then, on Easter Sunday of 2010 an earthquake closed off even more. Much of what the earthquake blocked is now more or less accessible again, depending on what you're driving, but the section you'll see in these next shots is no longer accessible to vehicles.
So, why would this all matter? When Mitch and I were there in 2006 we came across a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser even further up the canyon than we had parked. They were not even on the market yet, so we walked over to take a look. We saw this.
We met some guy driving the FJ who said he was field testing it for a magazine or something. We talked for a while, and then pretty much forgot about it for the next 6 years.
Still wondering where this is going? Well, last week I was watching a youtube video that a friend made during our trip out to Anza Borrego last weekend. At the end there were a bunch of "related" videos that popped up, and one of them mentioned something about a Toyota FJ in Fish Creek. I watched the first of the 3 videos. The narration was, I have to say, somewhat boring, but I immediately recognized it as having been shot on that same day that we were there in 2006. I then sat through the next two videos, remembering that had passed us driving out of Fish Creek, and thought it might be cool to see my Xterra on the video.
My Xterra is not in the video, neither is Mitch's. But, if you watch closely at about 7:30 into the clip, you'll see something even better. Pay no attention to the guy by the FJ, just watch the background. You'll see me, Mitch (and if you look real closely, the top of Riley's head) as we "sasquatch" this guy's video.
There are a few more pictures from that day here. If you've been to Sandstone in the last year or two, you'll notice a difference.
http://frankbaiamonte.smugmug.com/So-Cal-Explorations-Day/Sandstone-Canyon-Mar-2006/ 
