Anza Borrego - Buttes Pass and Borrego Mountain Wash Area

A few of us from SCCX, the So Cal Club Xterra, got together today to explore the area of Anza Borrego Desert State Park around Buttes Pass and Borrego Mountain Wash. We also went up Blow Sand Canyon and traveled part of the way on the Goat Trail. It was warm, but the wind really picked up mid-day, and by late afternoon it was howling.

These beehive-looking formations are in Borrego Mountain Wash.

We did a hike through The Slot, a rather narrow sandstone canyon.

I'm really surprised that this leaning mass of fractured sandstone is still up there after last series of large earthquakes that started last Easter - but it is still there. Knowing how often there are quakes out there makes it strange to walk under this thing.

There are very few wildflowers out there right now, hopefully more will bloom in the next few weeks. The wind made it tough to get a decent shot.

Click here for a few more images from today.
     

A few shots from the San Diego Zoo

Here are a few shots from late Saturday afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. I'm really enjoying using my old 300mm lens again.

There were two adult pandas out, both were busy eating their late afternoon snack. Either that, or maybe they're just always eating when they're not sleeping.

This one was lying on her back munching away, with bits of plant everywhere.

The glass was way too dirty and scratched up to get a decent picture, so I thought I would try something different.

     

Evening Photos

On Thursday evening I met up with my friend Marty for a bit of evening photography. It was very foggy along the coast, and the sky was cloudy looking inland as well, so we decided to try the view of the downtown San Diego skyline from Coronado. It also helps that there is an Il Fornaio Restaurant right there, where we could grab a tasty light dinner in the bar afterwards.

The cloudy sky made for an interesting background.

  

A Sunday morning walk around the San Diego Zoo

I spent a few hours walking around the Zoo this morning. The monitor lizard was out in the sun warming up. This thing is huge.

The Galapagos tortoises were enjoying their breakfast. They can chomp through that stuff pretty quickly.

Mom and new baby hippo (born Jan 26, 2011) were out sitting on the sand by their pool. That thing that looks like a giant rock in the background is Mom.

I stopped by the pond at the bottom of the canyon below the raptors to check out the some of the birds - lots of flamingos, and lots of other birds too..

I made it a point to get back to Tiger River in time for the keeper talk, and it was worth the wait. The keeper tossed a rabbit to the female tiger, who ran down the log to catch it and then carried it to a quiet corner to enjoy her mid-morning snack. I did get a few shots of the tiger with the rabbit in her mouth, but I don't think I'll post those pictures here. Here's Daniai (I think) watching - she knows something tasty is on the way.

On my way out I stopped in to check out the pygmy hippos. They're really small compared to Otis, who lives in the big hippo pool, but up close like this they don't look like anything you would want to come face to face with.

Click here to see more images from my Sunday morning walk around the San Diego Zoo.
    

Baby seals and some flying birds - A few hours at La Jolla

We had a little break in the storm this afternoon so I drove down to La Jolla to see if I could get some shots of the baby seals at the Children's Pool. It was raining when I first arrived, but I waited in the car for about 1/2 an hour and then it cleared up for about 45 minutes before getting dark again. There were lots of seals hauled out on the beach, and several of the young ones - even a couple of little ones playing in the surf with mom. 


This one seemed to be having a great time rolling around in the sand.

Mom and baby playing in the surf.

There were lots of gulls and pelicans out too.

This one was getting a bit too close I think.

Here's one coming in for a landing on the sand. That's the sea wall in the background.

The pelicans seem to like flying in formation. This reminded me of seeing the Navy aircraft flying in front of the downtown skyline 2 weeks ago.

Click here to see more from my afternoon in La Jolla at the Children's Pool.
    

Calli the Cat

I was getting my camera gear ready to go out this afternoon when I spotted Calli sitting on the couch.

Click here if you would like to see an assortment of pictures of Aldo and Calli.
   

I took an old friend for a walk around the Zoo today.

The "old friend" in question is actually a Nikon 300mm lens that has been sitting unused in a cabinet since mid-2007 when I switched from shooting film to digital. For various reasons I decided then to go with a different brand of dSLR, but kept my Nikon film gear "just in case". I finally got around to buying a Nikon digital SLR today, and as soon as the battery was charged I dug out the old lens and ran down to the San Diego Zoo. The lens is big and heavy (almost 3 lbs., not counting the camera body) and walking around the Zoo with it is actually a bit of workout. I still haven't figured out all of the controls on the new camera, but here are a few from my first hour or so with it, this afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. I didn't get there until 4PM, so the light was getting low in the canyons, but really nice up on the mesas. 

This next one is cropped a bit, the others are all straight from the camera.

Anyone planning a trip to the San Diego Zoo this time of year should really try to be at the meerkat enclosure right before the sun drops down and shades the enclosure in the late afternoon.

I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with my "old friend" at the Zoo and Wild Animal Park. 


Click here for a few more images from this afternoon at the San Diego Zoo.