Topic: Anza Borrego - Fish Creek, the Wind Caves & Sandstone Canyon - Mar 13, 2011

[FrankB]

We had a great time today. The weather was about perfect - a bit warm in the sun, but with a cool breeze to temper it, and very nice in the shade. I do have to say, though, that getting anywhere early on the first day of DST sucks.

We met Justin and his friends Cameron and Kamei at the Pie Company in Santa Ysabel, then found Mike and Karen at the start of Fish Creek Wash. We stopped briefly to check out the Anticline, then headed for the Wind Caves. The hike up to the caves is about a mile each way, and the sky was nice and clear, which made for some great views. Here's the view looking out across Fish Creek from partway up the trail.









Mike and Karen decided to play on the rocks a bit.



After the hike we were ready for some lunch, so we drove up Fish Creek Wash to nice shady spot that works well for small groups. On the way passed a huge herd of Land Rovers. There were two groups - the nice clean shiny ones parked in the shade of a rock wall having what looked to be rather elaborate lunches, and the Tactical Rovers group driving down wash. There were about 10 of them. Our lunch spot was the top of a large rock that gets just the right amount of shade in midday.



After lunch we drove in to Sandstone Canyon as far as the first rockfall.





Someone has dug out a bypass of sorts around the rockfall, but it was about time for us to turn back, and it looked a bit steep of an angle for our stock front bumpers in a couple of places.









After we aired up back at the mouth of Fish Creek and were heading out we spotted 2 more Xterras - Marshann and Thomas. It's a long story, so I'll let them tell that part.

There are few more of my pictures here.

[SoCalx]

Good times today!  Excellent photos as usual Frank!   I did a quick mod by removing my mud flaps and bought a VIAIR 300P air compressor and Staun tire defaltors so I wanted to test them out this weekend!  Karen and I drove to Anza Borrego Saturday around noon.  We found that Tamarisk Grove is closed until May so we camped at Yaqui Well.  It's primitive with no water and a vault toilet.  We were blasted with sandy wind all night and some animals were scavenging our campsite all night until moved everything into the Xterra.  Park Rangers said it was probably Kit Foxes.  Rangers came through and kicked our firepit down even though we had a metal container.  It was bottomless.  Live and learn. Still it was a beautiful spot.  Anyway, we woke up early and made a run at Blow Sand Canyon, Goat's Path and Buttes Mountain Pass and of course The Slot before the 10am meetup.
The ocotillo are in bloom all over this area.

Hawk Canyon is blooming quite nicely.  We are going to try to camp here next time.

Karen and I hiked through The Slot at around 9:45am

Then we high tailed it to Fish Creek Wash to meet Justin, Cameron, Kamei, Frank and his wife.

Got a picture of the famous anticline geological feature.

A group shot in Sandstone Canyon

We enoyed fresh Dutch Apple Pie courtesy of Frank!

After airing up at the end of Fish Creek Wash we ran into Marshann and Thomas.  Glad to hear you guys made it home and had adventure on the way!
-Mike

The rest of my photos are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/mike.laptewicz/SCCXAnzaBorregoFishCreekSandstoneCanyonMarch13th2011?feat=directlink

[Impact619]

Well, it was a bit of a misadventure, but we made it back out alive!  ; D

I got a late start, as I've mentioned in some other posts, because I work an evening bartending job on Friday and Saturday nights, so getting me anywhere early on ANY weekend is a bit of a miracle, and with losing an hour, it really wasn't going to happen! 

Marshann's X was running a bit rough when she got out to the area, so she called me as I was on my way up, and I picked up some gas treatment.  Good thing I had put my cel # in the other thread, and luckily she caught me early enough that I didn't get robbed at some remote convenience store to buy a dusty bottle of something that had been sitting on the shelf for who knows how many years!  I hit up my trusty O'reilly Auto Parts that I know is right off the 56, so that worked out well.

So, whether it was dumping the stuff in her tank, or just the fact that she'd let it sit and rest the entire time I was driving up, the thing started up and seemed to be running smoothly right away.  Right at the time was when we met up with you guys (Frank and Heather, and Mike and Karen, nice to have met you all!)

After chatting a bit, I noticed the sun creeping further to the west, so we decided to get going and try to get a little bit of a run in.  I'll let Marshann fill in some of the details, but essentially we never quite made it all the way to Sandstone Canyon, and wound up doing perhaps a tad bit more challenging driving than the 'main' path would have taken, but all went well, and we wound up having nice little picnic at the Wind Caves 'parking area' as it got dark, at which point the moon came out and Mr Hyde (the photographer in me) came roaring out and I had to try a bunch of different shots.    I'll post the best ones when I get 'em sorted.. I think we managed to get a couple of cool ones.

Again, nice meeting all of you, and hopefully we can do it again, especially now that it'll be getting dark later!  ; )

-Thomas-

[RockinX]

Wow, what an adventure!  Not exactly how I thought it would go but an adventure nonetheless.  I got to the meet spot late because the 78 was pretty much down to one lane and was at a standstill at times from all the people attending/participating in a half marathon.  There was a sign that said park entrance straight ahead.  No, I don't want to go to the park since that's probably where all these people are going.  So I turned left but had to wait to be escorted to go any further due to alternating traffic direction.  After trying to detour and ending up on deadend streets, I found myself back in line to go the way I should have gone, which was by I think the San Diego zoo.  I called Thomas since his was the only number I had and left a message with him to let everyone know I would be late.  Because of the time change, he hadn't got off work until what would have been 5:00 a.m. so it was a while before I heard back from him.

By the time I got to the meet spot I had a loud tapping noise coming from my engine.  The oil level was fine but it really sounded bad.  Joe from California Overland Desert Excursions stopped to see if I needed anything.  I believe he was just starting out on an excursion since he had some people with him.  They were kind enough to delay their start so he could listen to the noise.  He didn't think I should drive it and gave me his local mechanic's contact information so I could get it checked out in the morning if needed.  I told him a club member was on his way out here and others were probably on their way back from the canyon.  He continued with his excursion and said he would check with me on his way back.  Thinking maybe I got some bad gas, I called Thomas and asked him to bring me some gas treatment.  

So I hung out for a while and then Thomas arrives, and just a few minutes later Mike and Karen drove up, and then a couple minutes later Frank and Heather appeared.  It was great seeing everyone and we had a nice time catching up.  I had been waiting there quite a while and when I started my truck, it was perfectly fine!  No noise.  

Since everyone else was leaving, Thomas and I decided to head out to Fish Creek and Sandstone Canyon.  I had my Kenwood/Garmin gps that had worked so well for me before, so I took the lead.  I realize now that I should not have put it in offroad mode (as the crow flies) but should have left it in street mode where you can actually see the road.  I guess you can tell where this is going.  After not keeping to the left as Frank had told us to, we covered some interesting terrain.  I suppose when we had to climb some pretty steep steps, that probably should have been a clue that we were going the wrong way. But it wasn't until was ran across an FJ who warned us not to go any farther since he had just lost a tail light trying to get through.

Okay, so back we go.  When we got back to the Wind Caves we realized it was too late to continue to Sandstone Canyon.  Thomas was so looking forward to getting some photos at the canyon of his new truck, but he was very kind and tried not to show his disappointment.  Instead, he turned it around and made for what turned out to be a really enjoyable evening.  After eating a meal, I got to see some cool photography techniques and even learned a bit about astronomy.  The moon and stars were out so even though it was late, there was still some light.  After a while it was getting late so Thomas guided me to the 79 where we parted ways.  By the time I got home my truck was again making that loud tapping noise.  Guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow morning.  

Anyways, I just got home and wanted to let everyone know I got here okay before I began unpacking.  Through all this, I had a great time and an adventure to remember!

[FrankB]

Thomas and Marshann, it sounds like you had quite the adventure. As we were driving away I had mentioned to Heather that if I wasn't so tired, and didn't have to be at work early on Monday, I would have turned around gone back up to the canyon with you. The light was getting really nice in the late afternoon. That really is a great time to be out there.

I would certainly be up for another trip out there before it gets too hot. We could start late in the day too, as long as I can stay awake.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

[RockinX]

Thomas to the rescue!!!

[Impact619]

Hey Marshann...

Glad to hear you made it back...  sorry to hear the knocking started again.  : /  Any verdict yet on what's going on?

Frank that would have been great had you been able to run back up there with us... but I'm still glad I got myself up and about and made the drive... was worth it for sure!  Hehe, funny that you'd have trouble staying awake in the PM, and I'm never awake in the AM!  ; D  I'm absolutely up for meeting you up there again...  definitely earlier than I got here on Sunday, because I think we still would have barely gotten to the canyon with any daylight left, even had we not made the wrong turn.  This coming Sunday is no good for me, plus I also think the weather won't be as nice... perhaps the Sunday after?

Thanks for the great pics, Marshann... my ol' mug never looked so good!  ; D  I've been tied up with some stuff at work, and finishing some other photos for clients in the evenings, but I hope to finish with mine in the next couple days.  We really did get some fun ones after dark.

Nice pics as well, Mike!  Still need to find out what template that is you're using to Holga-ize your photos!! ; )  Works well with the desert scenery, especially.

Talk to you all soon!

-T-

[FrankB]

I do have to say that Marshann is particularly good with those long telephoto "papparazzi" like photos of Xterras.
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Oh, wait, maybe I should not have brought that up.

[RockinX]

Hey Marshann... Glad to hear you made it back...  sorry to hear the knocking started again.  : /  Any verdict yet on what's going on?

The knocking totally went away by the next morning.  Since I just got a new timing belt and everything else that goes along with it including all fluids, hoses and whatnot, I can only assume that the timing is off.  Now that I am on flat ground and not whirling around on mountain roads putting a load on it, it seems fine.  I need to call Calmini to see if my idler arm is going to be shipped to me anytime soon and then I can have it checked out when I get that installed.  If it will be more than a week, then I'll take it in this weekend and have them recheck everything. 

The idler arm is the only item on my checklist of being trail ready that I have left to do.  I had my tie rod ends replaced when I got the 100k maintenance done.  And with Bobby B's excellent guidance, I was able to switch out my front sway bar bushings and do some trimming so I no longer have any rubbing.  Thanks Bobby!  Fortunately, I didn't have to trim anywhere near as much trimming as you did so it wasn't too difficult at all.  Now I can start concentrating on the "fun" mods.

[RockinX]

Thanks for the great pics, Marshann... my ol' mug never looked so good!  ; D  I've been tied up with some stuff at work, and finishing some other photos for clients in the evenings, but I hope to finish with mine in the next couple days.  We really did get some fun ones after dark.

I have a couple more pictures of you with our trucks but, my goodness, I tried out PhotoShop CS for the first time and you wouldn't believe how long it took me to touch up your license plate.  I tried a few different methods and finally decided to black it all out which, IMHO, doesn't look too bad.  The others ones will be much easier to do now that I figured it out.  

The second picture I posted is just a cropped close up of the first one.  The mountains look way different on both of them since I was playing around with the image adjustments.  When I get some time, I am going to try it again and switch out the pictures since I think I can do a better job.  I have the originals which are huge in size and can PM them to you if you would like.  

It was a blast taking the photos after dark!  The best part was that you let me help and explained everything to me.  I saw the previews and I think you got some excellent shots.  

[RockinX]

I do have to say that Marshann is particularly good with those long telephoto "papparazzi" like photos of Xterras.
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Oh, wait, maybe I should not have brought that up.

Noooooooooooooo!  Don't do it!!!!  There is a motivation poster thread posted elsewhere and I cringed when I saw it, although I was tempted to post my work of art along with Shahram's story.  But the fallout would be more than anyone could handle.   


Hmmmm, but then again .... 

[Impact619]

I have a couple more pictures of you with our trucks but, my goodness, I tried out PhotoShop CS for the first time and you wouldn't believe how long it took me to touch up your license plate.  I tried a few different methods and finally decided to black it all out which, IMHO, doesn't look too bad.  The others ones will be much easier to do now that I figured it out.  

The second picture I posted is just a cropped close up of the first one.  The mountains look way different on both of them since I was playing around with the image adjustments.  When I get some time, I am going to try it again and switch out the pictures since I think I can do a better job.  I have the originals which are huge in size and can PM them to you if you would like.  

It was a blast taking the photos after dark!  The best part was that you let me help and explained everything to me.  I saw the previews and I think you got some excellent shots.  

Yeah, I'd love to see them, and yes, actually the blocking out DID look really good.  It actually looks pretty much what the front looks like without the license plate, so I actually had to wonder for a sec whether I had forgotten to put the plate back on the last time I removed it to take some pics!  ; D

I played around with one of the pics a little in photoshop yesterday, and kind of like how it turned out.  I still need to resize them all for posting on the web... I'll try and do that tonight after soccer.

-T-

[RockinX]

Here ya go ...

[XterracerX]

Noooooooooooooo!  Don't do it!!!!  There is a motivation poster thread posted elsewhere and I cringed when I saw it, although I was tempted to post my work of art along with Shahram's story.  But the fallout would be more than anyone could handle.   


Hmmmm, but then again .... 

*insert picture of me waiting impatiently 

[RockinX]

Hey, wait!  Where did the rest of the picture in the first photo go?  Somehow part of your truck got cut off Thomas.  I think I will need to stay away from PS until I learn it a little better.  I will switch that picture out as well probably this weekend, since they are keeping me busy at work (which is a good thing).  Don't rush getting your pictures posted Thomas because I think we all know (at least I do for sure) that it takes some time to work with them.

Haha, Calmini says it will be another 3-4 weeks until my idler arm arrives.  That is what they told me 3-4 weeks ago.  I hope it gets here before May in case Goldfish (Don) is able to put together a Big Bear xcursion.

And Fred - Uh, yeah, don't hold your breath.