Carrizo Gorge / Mason Valley / Red Hill - ABDSP

I have a pretty long list of places I keep telling myself I will stop and check out "one of these days" and this week I knocked out a few of them. First stop was Carrizo Gorge, among other reasons for the visit I wanted to get some pictures of the pictographs with my good camera. ABDSP is really stepping up the efforts in Carrizo Gorge, they have recently added many new big, thick wooden posts and signs blocking access to the Rockhouse Canyon road, many self made side trails/roads and also at the end of the road itself. These are all for the better, people have been driving off the road in too many places damaging many parts of the gorge. Tamarisk removal is also obvious, the road is almost void of brush scraping your vehicle.

According to Stellarium, this photo shows the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Orion, Sirius, Pleiades star cluster (M45) and more. Sombrero Peak is in the far distance just to the right of the tree, False Sombrero can also be seen further to the right - Carrizo Gorge


Teddy Bear Cholla Wildflower - Carrizo Gorge


Pictographs in Carrizo Gorge



To learn more about pictographs in Anza Borrego Desert State Park pick up a copy of Manfred Knaak's book The Forgotten Artist: Indians of Anza-Borrego and Their Rock Art

You can find more books about Rock Art in California on Amazon

Three coyotes walked up to my campsite near dusk while I was reading, I broke one of my own rules by not having my camera with me so the next best thing is the prints they left (starting in the bottom right corner going to the top left). You can see how close they came up to me. They really had no fear or concern about me, we made eye contact and then they calmly continued on their way - Carrizo Gorge


Mason Valley is one of those places I drive by all the time and have wanted to go check out. I spent almost all day wandering around the valley and still did not see everything I wanted, I did not get over to check out the old mines for example. Technically Mason Valley (where I went) is private property owned by the Butterfield Ranch and BLM land. When I was out on the trail I had the opportunity to meet the owner of the Buterfield Ranch and help her with horses and some riders with her. I really liked the area. All the photos from Mason Valley can be seen here

Some great old vehicles and farm equipment at the Butterfield Ranch







Out in Mason Valley there is an old rockhouse built into the hills that I believe early ranchers used.


This is a dugout in the corner of the house that was probably used for storage or a dry shelter when raining


This is looking out the front door into the valley


This must be where the stove or fireplace must have been, you can see the steel exhaust vent pipe above and it channels out to the chimney outside


This is a small dam next to the rockhouse, it was used to block a small stream nearby


Indians definitely favored Mason Valley, there are some great morteros in some interesting rock


Somebody must know why animals love to leave their crap in holes in the rocks


I found several cupule boulders in the valley


There was pottery in the area also, including this very thick, large piece


Here is a very interesting rock wall that hugged the edges of a wash, it was much, much longer than what the photo shows


There were many wildflower blooms in the valley, you can see more wildflowers here
Desert Apricot - Mason Valley


Beavertail Cactus - Mason Valley



Making my way back home I stopped to climb Red Hill. I swear I have told myself a million times I would stop and climb it real quick before going home..well that was today.

From the S2 highway looking at Red Hill in the distance


As I neared the summit the terrain turned to mostly volcanic boulders and required using my hands to get up


Here we go again, scat in a nice hole in the rocks near the summit


On the summit of Red Hill looking towards Ocotillo. If the Ocotillo Wind Energy Project succeeds this view will be of 150+ 450' tall Wind Generators


The last entry in the register was over a month old


Some beautiful blooms were on the sides of Red Hill
Ocotillo - Red Hill


Beavertail Cactus - Red Hill


Gorgeous Ocotillo blooms were everywhere - Red Hill



Happy Sweet Sixteen little darling...total mylar balloons this trip - 6


Sunrise Powerlink laydown area in Ocotillo. This is what is left now that they have finished and gone. It will take thousands of years for the "Restoration" to return back to the way it was before SDG&E raped the land...way to go SDG&E!