Mojave / Death Valley
March 3-11, 2007 - Trip Report
With an extension to the Salton Sea March 11-13, 2007
14 Participants with Guides Peg Abbott and Greg Smith

Saturday, March 3 Arrival in Palm Springs / Indian Canyons
Palm Springs is a lovely small city set right against the dramatic rise of the San Jacinto Mountains; the Indian Canyons are well-watered palm oasis just outside the city. Despite inclement weather in Chicago and the East Coast, most of our group arrived without delay, and many chose to start exploring right away with Greg Smith. Just a few days out of retirement from the California State Parks Department, Greg joins Naturalist Journeys guiding staff, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience. On this initial outing he found us Western Bluebirds, California Towhee, Lesser Goldfinch, and White-throated Swifts. All are winter residents of this dramatic canyon, which is bounded on the north side by sheer cliffs. We walked for a couple of hours along a stream fed by melting snow in the high country.

Peg arranged for an alfresco dinner to celebrate our arrival in the desert. They had a nice fire going for us in the poolside fireplace, and we enjoyed a leisurely dinner with some fine entrees and luscious desserts. Several members of our group were old friends from past trips, while others were meeting for the first time. Also, three members of Quest Nature Tours joined us from Canada to explore the desert in spring.

Sunday March 4 Big Morongo Preserve / East Mojave Preserve / Death Valley
We left at 8 am this morning after enjoying a full breakfast. Just north of the city we stopped at another oasis to walk the boardwalk trail at Big Morongo Preserve. This lush habitat, on a calm sunny morning, proved delightful and very productive in the birding realm. We had excellent looks at a friendly flock of tiny Common Bushtits, joined by a White-breasted Nuthatch. Several very bold Western Scrub Jays came in to inspect their chances for a handout. A real treat was seeing a bright male Anna’s Hummingbird perched on the tip of a budding willow, uttering its high call and then launching airborne for its display. Later we found the nest of a female and were able to watch her in the scope, tending to her eggs with stealth. There were loads of wintering Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The call of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker invited a search, and in time we were able to observe three handsome males. Greg heard the call of Virginia Rail, and Bewick’s Wren put on a good show, singing and probing in the bark of giant cottonwood trees. Greg’s gang also spotted both Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks. We saw Hutton’s Vireo, California Thrasher, California Towhee – a fine start to our day! As Death Valley was still many miles ahead, we headed north, reaching Baker in time for lunch. The scenery en route was austere but spectacular as we crossed salt pans, lava flows, and a varied landscape with cinder cones against massive ancient limestone reefs. The geology was absolutely fascinating, as was the historic railway station at Kelso.

After lunch at a truck stop with panoply of fast food restaurants to choose from (a very American cultural experience for our Canadian guests) we drove a short distance to a desert research station of the East Mojave Preserve, known as Zzyzx. Greg has taught desert ecology classes at this site for years; memorable were his stories of watching the two-story thermometer gauge in Baker with binoculars as the sun set (the determining factor for students deciding on whether to have another beer…). We walked around the pond - discovering Black Phoebe, Cinnamon Teal, a Pied-billed Grebe - and watched American Coots puff up their white under tail feathers while courting. The light was beautiful on the pond and surrounding desert; mountains across the salt pan shone. Richard discovered several bright male Mountain Bluebirds, likely early migrants, feeding at the edge of the Salt Pan in the company of Say’s Phoebe. We decided to check the rows of Tamarisk trees near the car park, and were well rewarded by the sight of at least 16 Long-eared Owls, which flushed from their communal daytime roost. They flew low and quietly just across the road, and with patience we eventually got scope views of their inquisitive faces staring back at us through tamarisk fronds. Ernest had a pair land in branches quite close to his comfortable, shaded picnic table roost – how nice! By 4:00 pm, with another couple of hours’ driving ahead of us, we just had to go. We absorbed again austere but majestic scenery, punctuated by the sight of a few Desert Marigold and Brittlebush in bloom along the road margins. It was dark by 6:00 pm as we paid our fees at the park entrance, but this was ideal mammal watching time, and our first van had glimpses of both Gray Fox and Coyote! Peg had pre-ordered dinner, knowing we would be late, so we ate quickly – and heartily - with massive servings of BBQ ribs and chicken, western style!

Monday, March 5 Death Valley National Park: Golden Canyon / Zabriskie Point, Dante’s View / Artist’s Drive
After our long drive yesterday we opted for a leisurely day, starting at 9:00 am with a walk up Golden Canyon. There was still plenty of shade, and a delightful breeze blew like a natural air conditioner. We sallied along the bed of an eroded break in an ancient alluvial fan, reading the geologic story as we progressed. There were fragments of rock of many sizes with differing origins, imbedded in layers of colorful ash and silt. In the first mile we counted a mere three plants, so austere was this below sea level canyon. When we did find one, it was an extremely healthy Four-winged Salt Bush, which provided shade and shelter to a group of Side-blotched Lizards. A pair of Common Raven circled overhead; they seemed to be gathering sticks from an old nest and carrying them off to create one anew – in this stark environment a stick was obviously a prized possession! We heard a Rock Wren and Richard spied Say’s Phoebe, but otherwise it was a wonderland of rock to behold. At Zabriskie Point Peg gave a brief overview of the geologic story – one of compression and extension and slipping and faulting – a story as big as the landscape and hard to grasp in one telling! Luckily we had the whole week to expand upon this introduction, and after taking numerous photos, we climbed back in the vans to drive up in elevation to one of the grandest view points of all – Dante’s View. We were fortunate to have a calm day; one in which we could stand with a view of the valley below and just take it all in. We could see as far as Mt. Charleston in the Spring Mountains above Las Vegas and, in the other direction past Telescope Peak, at a group of peaks somewhere north of Bishop in the high Sierras. Peg pointed out that the alluvial fans emerging from each drainage in the Panamint Mountains joined like skirts. They reached halfway up the mountain, making them a mile high! These alluvial fans are a signature of the Death Valley landscape, and certainly a testimony to Earth’s erosive forces.

We returned to lunch in the shade by the Visitor’s Center, where an Antelope Ground Squirrel and several patient Common Ravens watched our progress. We had lots of fresh foods and enjoyed the time to visit. After lunch, Richard found a pair of Verdin making a nest, and several people purchased maps and books of the area. We took an hour’s siesta, and as the light lingered at a long afternoon angle, we drove the winding route of Artist’s Drive. We stopped several places en route for photos, but the finest was the stop Greg chose, close to particularly colorful formations at the Artist’s Palette parking area. Here the rocks shone green, turquoise, mauve and tan. An inquisitive Common Raven posed for photos with this as his background – pretty fine! As the sun went down behind the high wall of the Panamint Mountains, it was as if theater lights were suddenly dimmed – time to head back to our lodgings. Some of our group went with Greg over to the evening Park Service Program on star-gazing. They looked at several major constellations, learned a lot of fun star facts, and marveled at the ranger’s high tech star pointer.

Tuesday, March 6 Augeberry Point / Wild Rose / Sunset Return
Several of our group joined Peg for an early bird walk, on which the sightings were dominated by wintering residents such as Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrows and Mourning Doves. Eurasian-collared Doves were new for several of the group, as was the more secretive Lincoln’s Sparrow. The most entertaining birds were the Common Ravens, intent on harvesting and caching fresh dates from the palms into the bark of neighboring trees. Geoffrey had seen two Coyote trot by earlier in the morning, and tracks were everywhere evident, with recent scat indicating that they also were dining on dates.

Today’s outing was to the higher reaches of the Panamint Mountains, by way of Stovepipe Wells and a winding road up Wild Rose Canyon. We had another calm day with perfect temperatures, so the viewpoint at Augeberry Point was outstanding. We lingered at the panoramic views, with some of the group bending over to investigate lichens and others stretching over rocks for the perfect photo of the salt pan formations on the valley floor some 6000 ft. below. Geoffrey found several robust bunches of hedgehog cacti, nestled into a south-facing slope. En route we watched both male and female Northern Harriers demonstrate their acrobatic flight while hunting; below we watched their intended prey – Antelope Ground Squirrels – scurry handily amid thick shrubs. A pair of Red-tailed Hawk flew circles above a colorful ridgeline, and our ever-faithful Say’s Phoebe sallied forth from rock and shrub perches. As we drove down from the point we stopped at Pete Augeberry’s old digs, inhabited until 1945, where he had labored for 40 years in search of mineral wealth. Wandering about the house, and sitting in his front porch chair, one could only imagine such a remote lifestyle and how intimately he knew the desert.

Ernest spotted a great lunchtime companion at our picnic near the Wild Rose turnoff – an inquisitive Greater Roadrunner who walked almost right through our eating area. Janet said she’d never had such a good look at one – fun! We feasted once again on fresh foods and epicurean delights transported from Peg’s Palm Springs shopping. Fortified, several of our group ventured off on a hike up the Wild Rose trail. The trailhead was just to the left of one of Death Valley’s most impressive historical areas, a row of 10 well-preserved limestone kilns, from charcoal-making days of the 1870’s. These kilns, shaped like beehives, stand some 25 feet tall, and are 30 feet. across at the base. Standing inside one still smells the odor of creosote from the burning embers. Each kiln held 45 cords of wood per firing. Today the ecological toll on local forests has been mostly erased, and we had to search for old stumps and signs of skid trails. The birds, alas, were incredibly quiet; the hikers found only Mountain Chickadees, and those strolling up the road had to be content with the courting pair of ravens that entertained us atop the charcoal kilns.

Our drive home was well timed; Phyllis said just right. The fading light of day cast shadows on the landscape, illuminating color on the folded mountain escarpments, and long shadows on the sensuous folds of the dunes near Stovepipe Wells. Another great day exploring Death Valley ended with dinner – some choosing quick burgers and local brews and others a more leisurely meal at the Steakhouse.

Wednesday, March 7 Ducks and Geese / Salt Creek / Mosaic Canyon / Sand Dunes
This morning we checked out a local oasis that Peg had scouted the evening before. This was a simple pond on the golf course, but water in the desert is a magnet, and here we found a good array of interesting waterfowl, including two Ross’ Geese, a Greater Scaup, several handsome Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, and two waders: Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitcher. From here we drove north towards Stove Pipe Wells, stopping to walk the boardwalk trail that traverses Salt Creek, one of the few nearly perennial streams of the valley floor. A flock of Horned Lark was feeding in one of the runoff channels as we approached; along the boardwalk we found American Pipit, Black Phoebe and Say’s Phoebe to be quite tame. We also found the endemic Salt Creek pupfish, and were able to watch them swim out of their shaded stream bank refuge into the main channel to feed. A Marsh Wren sang persistently from the reeds, its voice small in contrast to the vast sense of space garnished by the open nature of this big country, a country of immense aridity held firm against a background of 10,000-plus foot mountains.

At nearby Mosaic Canyon we experienced a different sense of space entirely, that of an intimate canyon, one pattered by ages of erosion, which has revealed over time some of the loveliest patterned rock we would encounter. Bands of folded rock, wonderful breccias with angular fragments, polished marble – what an array to behold. And to navigate! We helped each other up the polished undulating streambed; narrow polished steps that would lead to one shaded alcove after another. Our views opened up at a wide valley, where we sat to soak in the view before wandering about to find a few blooming flowers.

After a siesta, during which some visited the Borax Mining Museum while others rested, we ventured back out to explore the Sand Dunes. We parked by the roadside and wandered at leisure into the folds of sand, Geoffrey leading the way at a rigorous pace. Several dropped behind to admire or photograph; he soon was a small dot on the horizon, an excellent model to give our photos a sense of scale. The dunes were quiet, peaceful, and all-absorbing. Soon the sunset light heightened their shadows; being here at this time was magical. With the last light of day we got back in the vans and drove a short way to enjoy dinner at Stove Pipe Wells, where we had a chance to visit and a great meal. Driving back, we stopped to view the incredible night sky, truly brilliant in this remote location with the Milky Way well defined.

Thursday, March 8 Titus Canyon / Furnace Creek Inn
This day we undertook a grand adventure; a long backcountry drive through absolutely spectacular country leading into, and then literally through, Titus Canyon in the Grapevine Mountains. Geoffrey commented that he never knew volcanic rocks could be so many colors. The drive up to White’s Pass and through Titanothere Canyon presents a kaleidoscope on a quite a grand scale. Birds of Prey were active along the way; we first spied a Prairie Falcon winging purposefully over the desert shrubs, then a Red-tailed Hawk flying with prey. A beautiful chocolate-bellied Red-tail soared for us above colorful rock sediments, working a quartz intrusion in search of rodents. We traversed some hairpin turns, arriving at the mining town of Leadville for a stretch and some exploration and photographs. How anyone got a road, let along a town with 1700 plotted lots, surveyed in this arid land is beyond imagination! We stopped at the petroglyphs, which sadly have been badly vandalized, but still display things of importance to their creators – Bighorn Sheep, water symbols, a Thunderbird… Greg spotted two Chuckwalla out sunning on the rocks just to the left of the petroglyphs. We put the scope on them, and Greg described their social habits, detailing for us that we were seeing an alpha male and his subordinate younger male – both of which posed for our pictures. We scanned but did not find the local herd of Bighorn Sheep, and decided to drive to the mouth of the canyon where there were facilities for our lunch. Alas, no table, we simply tailgated it and dined in style. Janet cut us fresh date-nut bread from Furnace Creek – yum! About half our group elected to stay to do a hike, a hot and sunny one as it was mid-day. This turned out okay as we caught a good up-canyon breeze blowing up Fall Canyon, and rested in some delightful shade. Richard spotted a Collared Lizard that remained quite tame for our inspection. A few butterflies were in the air, and Pat found our favorite buckwheat, Erioginum inflatum in bloom for the first time. This was indeed a good day for flowers; earlier in the day we had discovered a patch of blooms on the cut-off road to Beatty. There we had found Desert Five-spot, Notch-leafed Phaecelia, Desert Verbena, Death Valley Mohavea and Desert Sunflower. It was a somewhat slow day for birds, but we spiced that up with a stop at the pond en route to dinner. Most of the ducks seen the day before were there, joined by a bright male Wood Duck – nice! Peg surprised us with a dinner at the Furnace Creek Inn which proved to be delightful!

Friday, March 9 Badwater / Natural Bridge / Back to Baker / Cima Dome / Kelso Depot
Today we left Death Valley to travel through more of the East Mojave Preserve and on to 29 Palms, gateway to Joshua Tree National Monument. It was a lovely clear and calm morning. We enjoyed a hike up a fascinating canyon to the Natural Bridge. Like Golden Canyon, this route bisects a natural alluvial fan; along the way we could see several faults, a cave and several recent mass movement slumps where loosely consolidated clumps of earth had been dislodged. Who knows how long this bridge will stand? We walked under it and on up to the end of the canyon where the trail hits the underlying bedrock and a dry waterfall with lovely polished rock stopped our exploration. We drove on to Badwater, the lowest spot in the western hemisphere, and marveled at the SEA LEVEL sign several hundred feet above us on the escarpment of the Black Mountains. We walked out onto the Salt Pan for a new perspective of a now familiar scene. With this we said our goodbyes to Death Valley, driving out of the park at the south end of the wide valley, up and over two passes comprised of a mix of intrusive and extrusive colorful rock.

Lunch in Baker was at the Mad Greek. Mary Jane commented on the attire of the makeup clad waitresses – quite a commentary on this Interstate stop so popular with travelers and truckers. Fortified with another good meal, we headed on to Cima Dome to see firsthand the densest Joshua Tree forest in the region. This is the narrow-leafed species, slightly smaller than those we would see in Joshua Tree National Monument, but no less impressive. Peg spotted several in bloom, so we got out to explore, photograph and sample the area. This was early for blooming, so we were lucky to find several plants with multiple flowers. What a fantastic place, with myriad twisted trunks of this tree-form yucca in abundance, set against the backdrop of Clark Mountain, highest point in the Mojave. Several granite boulders decorated the landscape as well – how we wish we had more time here to extend ourselves on a hike! As we had a ways to drive, we headed on to Kelso Depot, after watching pair of courting Red-tailed Hawks alight at the top of a yucca at very close range.

Kelso Depot is a marvelous building at an important railroad way station once prized for its all-important water source here in the desert. Saved from demolition by railroad enthusiasts and volunteers, it now serves as a Visitor Center for the East Mojave Preserve. We took time to examine the excellent exhibits and to look over the books and wares in the gift store. Owen discovered the railroad exhibits on the second floor – combined with the austere natural setting this museum depicts quite a challenging history.

Saturday, March 10 Joshua Tree National Monument
We spent today in a Wonderland of rocks. Janet and Polly both remarked that this was their favorite day as they had never seen a landscape quite like this, with rocks jumbled up against a brilliant blue sky. In the morning we offered two hikes of varying difficultly, allowing everyone to walk alongside the wild forms of the Joshua trees, framing photos of tight clustered buds and seeing first hand their height and girth. Some of these yucca family trees stand 40 feet tall and are estimated to be over 200 years in age. Driving through the park we found endless vistas of them standing tall amidst weathered granite boulders. This desert seemed quite lush after Death Valley; we enjoyed watching Whitetail Antelope Ground Squirrel, Black-throated Sparrow and California Towhee feeding on grass seeds. We met at the Hidden Valley picnic site for lunch under the shade of several large Joshua Trees from where we could watch the progress of several groups of rock climbers. After lunch we stretched our legs on a loop nature trail near Cap Rock, and drove up to Keys View to see a vast expanse of country – all the way out to the Salton Sea.

After an afternoon break, we met in the Great Room to watch some of Greg’s slides, from owls to penguins of Antarctica; it was a treat. Our final dinner was at a Mexican restaurant downtown. The portions were palatial, and Geoffrey once again finished his whole plate! David beat that by ordering a large tower of fried ice-cream for dessert -- oh my! We reminisced on our favorite places and experiences of the week, and celebrated a great time with a most compatible group.

Sunday, March 11 Departures / Salton Sea Extension
Five of our group had to depart today; we had a leisurely drive back to Palm Springs, stopping en route at Big Morongo Preserve where leaves on the cottonwood trees had emerged quite a bit in the week we’d been away. We enjoyed time at the feeders, where the Anna’s Hummingbirds were joined by a female Black-chinned Hummingbird, and we had good views of Dark-eyed Junco and California Towhee. The wind was blowing quite hard so we did not find much on the bit of trail we had time to do; Owen found a group of lizards basking in the sun close to the ground, and then erupting in a bout of play. We dropped David and Pat at the airport as they had the first flight out, and then went to the Living Desert Museum in Palm Desert. By late morning it was hot, but we enjoyed seeing some the animals still active – the Mexican Wolves, Wild Dogs and other mammals in the Africa section, and a host of blooming wildflowers from all the North American deserts. Time passed quickly, and we returned to downtown Palm Springs to drop Geoffrey at his hotel, finding a great deli for lunch just across the street. Owen and Ruth departed on a late afternoon flight, and Peg and Charlie drove back to meet the group arriving from southern Joshua Tree and the Salton Sea. HEAT had been the operative word of their afternoon – unusual for March, temperatures had been in the 90’s as they tried to bird the arid salt pans and marshes without shade, phew! Luckily they had some great bird sightings for their efforts; White-faced Ibis at close range, a Peregrine Falcon hunting, Least and Western Sandpiper and a number of herons and egrets. In the morning they had explored more of Joshua Tree, enjoying a walk at the oasis of Cottonwood, where they found a Coyote, and several songbirds.

Monday, March 12 Salton Sea (Sonny Bono) NWR / Anza Borrego
This morning we decided to beat the heat and start very early – we were at Kendall’s Café by 6:00 am to fortify ourselves with breakfast and head out for the day. Mary Jane marveled at industrial agriculture – fields of onions, carrots, citrus groves… Trucks were busy hauling lush harvests; we had to be careful with our roadside stops as they traveled with purpose and speed. The temptations to pull over were many, though – fields just filled with White-faced Ibis, Great and Snowy Egrets, Red-winged Blackbirds, and other species. Richard spotted three flying Sandhill Cranes and keen-eyed Greg spotted a White-tailed Kite. We walked at the Wister Wildlife Area, searching for Abert’s Towhee (great looks) and Crissal Thrasher (quick glimpse); then drove around a large pond where we stopped several times to study some species in detail. Western and Clark’s Grebes put on quite a show for us, with a male of each species facing off, erupting out of the water in a spectacular chase; the Western returning to its mate to reinforce the bond with elegant neck movements and calling. We watched them for quite a while; their smaller cousins, the Pied-billed and Eared Grebes also visible in the distance. The next treat was not far, scope views of Great Blue Heron on their nests. Perched in trees standing dead in the water, females were hunkered down incubating eggs, while males stood watch. A Great Egret showed beautiful breeding plumes but did not yet have a nest, and two immature Black-crowned Night-Herons flew by. We also saw a Spiny Softshell Turtle. Peg spotted a Merlin flying by as we continued on the drive - then a Northern Harrier. We stopped for a snack at the end of the lake, and were pleased with good views of an Orange-crowned Warbler. We found a nice shaded area and active bird feeders at the refuge headquarters; some of the group elected to rest here while others walked out the Rock Hill Trail to a causeway that afforded us views of great expanse of the Salton Sea and a closer in view of three islands absolutely teeming with birds. We found Herring, California and Ring-billed Gull, both Brown and White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, and many Caspian Terns. We’d watch males come in with fish, causing quite a commotion – training our scopes on the scene we realized there were several small fuzzy chicks amid the mob – amazing! Around the islands were hundreds of Ruddy Duck and Northern Shoveler, joined by American Avocet, Blue-winged Teal and other species.

After a great last picnic in the shade, we ventured out to another causeway, where the legendary smell of the Salton Sea hit us full on – phew! We took a quick look at the gulls, but headed on to a point where the breeze was blowing. Here we found a Bonaparte’s Gull amid the flock, a Black-bellied Plover and a group of Marbled Godwit. We scanned several groups of gulls, but as the heat was coming on strong we opted for a retreat, and drove back to Borrego and our lodgings in view of the mountains. We did make a stop at the Visitor Center to check the progress on the Hawk Watch run in the month of March, and to view the exhibits and do a bit of shopping. Part of our group ventured out to the Hawk Watch site at dusk, but saw only a couple of ravens and a friendly local dog on this delightful desert evening. Dinner was back at Carlee’s, a good meal once again. Best of all we celebrated Charlie’s birthday with cake and ice cream, best wishes and good cheer.

Tuesday, March 13 Anza Borrego and Departures
Janet, Phyllis and Charlie returned by car to Las Vegas, while the rest of our group drove back to our starting point at Palm Springs. It was a lovely morning, with a brilliant orange sunrise, and cool temperatures to start the day. White-winged Doves were present in the parking lot as we gathered to go to breakfast. We traded tales en route, and ended a most enjoyable journey.

Photo of Salt Creek, Joshua Tree Forest and Kelso Depot by Greg Smith.
All other photos by Peg Abbott.

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