Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego
Election Backpack
|
ziphius Posts: 911
11/13/2016
|
I spent Monday and Tuesday nights in Vallecito Valley, mainly to get away from TVs.
Drove out through Ocotillo and then north to Agua Caliente Co. Pk. to park.
Some pre-election sights on the way out.
The ironic juxtaposition of Trump and Hildalgo names caught my eye.
I began my trip at Agua Caliente and took a canyon route into the valley. There are some natural trail markers along the way.
There were also several cairns / ducks which I knocked over. It's a canyon route for the love of God. Why spoon-feed the masses as to what route to take?
First lunch stop about 2.5 hrs into the hike.
One of four water troughs I encountered.
Spent blooms of a Datura wrightii, or Jimson Weed. Highly hallucinogenic and dangerous.
Water supply. There was recent evidence of horse traffic here and someone had cut some vegetation away from outside of the trough, presumably to allow their horse to access the water. No signs of other traffic in the area for some time.
I picked a camp in a higher-than-normal spot, away from the water. Lets the wildlife come to the water unafraid and reduces the bugs.
Another view from camp.
Piece of obsidian.
A dry trough in another part of the valley.
I followed some old plastic pipes from this trough uphill hoping for water, but didn't find water.
Sawtooth Mtns.
Piece of octotillo I think.
Election Day, wondering what is going on.
Election Night, still wondering.
Camp Views.
Wednesday morning, no idea who won.
Later in the morning, still no idea who won. No desire to leave. Blood pressure 115/65 I'm guessing.
Cowboy camp I stumbled upon.
The flag wasn't at half-mast when I returned to the car. Everything seemed normal.
Ocotillo bound.
Migrant slippers.
and Border Patrol. I should have got a better photo, but I was making the agent nervous. Tommy would have taken a much better photo 
I either missed this on the way out or more likely, it was placed there on Tuesday / Wednesday.
The first place I went to, at around 2:30 PM on Wednesday.
About 15-20 people were there, all cheerful. I ordered a Pacifico and sat at the bar for 30 minutes, without hearing a peep about the election. Finally, I guy at the end of the bar murmured something.
I turned on my barstool and caught his eye. "Who won?" I asked. The bar went silent. A woman turned toward me. "Trump". I said "Wow." The woman said, "I hope that isn't bad news for you."
I ordered another beer. "John" and I talked at the end of the bar for awhile, about America, about media, about camping. We talked about biased media. He said he didn't own a TV, but he trusted Google Search, said "it was fair" and reliable. He wanted to know where I had camped. My topo maps were in the car. I brought them in and laid them out on the bar with John, we looked them over. Everyone loves beer and topo maps. There were no lines of division between us, except for the ones on the map.
edited by ziphius on 11/13/2016
--
http://www.coyotelearning.org
|
|
|
+1
link
|
|
ziphius Posts: 911
11/14/2016
|
Tooting my own horn a bit, the Lazy Lizard Saloon story published online in The San Diego Reader today. They pay pretty decently for short news stories.
--
http://www.coyotelearning.org
|
|
|
+1
link
|