The Birds!

A few weeks ago we spent a very nice Saturday night in a cabin in the Laguna Mountains of eastern San Diego county after spending the day searching for bighorn sheep in the southern portions of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (no luck!).

The Laguna Mountains are in eastern San Diego county and generally run north-south.  They are within the Descano Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest. The Sunrise Scenic Byway (County S1) runs up the mountains and along their crest.  To the east of the mountains is the 3500-4000 ft drop to the floor of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  Vistas from select portions of the S1 and trails just off the S1 (such as the Pacific Crest Trail) cover 180 degrees of view at times and if the day is clear, the Salton Sea, more than 40 miles away as the crow flies, is just visible on the horizon.

Looking down on the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

When we got to the office of the Laguna Mountain Lodge, I was  still bleeding from my minor fall at Kwaaymii Point on the Pacific Crest Trail, where I saved my camera at the expense of my now-bleeding elbow and raw forearm.  This sounds a lot worse than it actually was. This accident brought back to my memory an event from almost 10 years ago, when Joanie parked the car unknowingly next to a large ditch and I fell out of the car and disappeared into the ditch, again sacrificing myself for my camera.  Anyway, more on Kwaaymii Point later in a later post.

As I was promised when I called the lodge to make  our reservation (you must call between 9-5), we were upgraded from a room to a cabin at no extra charge and with  no second night requirement.   For those remembering simpler times, the cabin key was an actual metal key (not a key card) on a key ring attached to a heavy plastic carrier.  The carrier had printed on it that return postage was promised to be paid if a lost key was dropped in the mail. These types of hotels keyrings were standard issue about 20-30 years ago and I had not seen one like it in a while.

Classic Keyring on Sale on EBAY similar to key at Laguna Mountain Lodge

It was too early for dinner, so we just sat on our porch and listened to the game of horseshoes going on the other side of the grassy picnic/playground area.  The players were half our age, if that  matters.   I guess as more time passes and more people become less than half our age, it will really start to seem to matter.

Joanie commented that the cheap green plastic chairs on the porch were not the same wooden Adirondack-type chairs shown on the lodge webpage.  I was just glad to be able to sit down without the chair collapsing; they looked pretty flimsy.

Because we were neither equipped nor motivated enough to fire up the charcoal grill that came with the cabin and cook for ourselves, we had two options.  First, we could drive up to Julian, CA, where we had lunch earlier that day (explorers cannot be choosers).  Our second option was driving back down the mountains, hit the I-8 east for a few exits and spend some time at one of the Indian casinos.  We chose the second option for something different and since Joanie loves the slots.  There was actually a third option, but we did not find that out until Sunday morning.

**

When we woke up Sunday morning, the cabin was cozy; neither warm nor cold, though the small table fan was still doing its thing.  We were just trying to relax, having slept through the sunrise I had hoped to photograph at the crest, when the noise started.  It was an annoying noise that started and stopped irregularly.  The noise was definitely preventing any relaxation.

I turned over and looked out the window over the headboard of the bed.  “Woodpecker,” I said.

“Sounds like more than one,” Joanie said.

“Well, there is one pecking away at the cabin next to ours.”  I quickly got dressed, placed the 500mm lens on my camera and ran outside to try and capture some shots of this most annoying of creatures.  By the time Joanie came out of the cabin, I was walking back to the cabin, dejected, having not seen the woodpecker and cursing that I ran out barefooted.  Walking on the rough grass and hard dirt patches was not at all comfortable.

After showering and shaving, getting dressed, and putting my boots on, camera back in hand, I again went out in search of the woodpeckers and a blue jay, Joanie said she saw flying around the playground area.

In the area behind the cabin, there were no woodpeckers, but plenty of signs that they had been active there many times before.

After moving to the area in front of the cabin, I saw the quick-moving blue jay.

Then I saw woodpeckers.

**

After packing up the truck, we drove back to the lodge office to return that antique key.  The lodge manager was standing outside taking in the morning.  I got out of the truck and walked towards the few stairs leading up to the office porch.  He met me half-way to take the key.  I mentioned the woodpeckers.

“Those things drive me crazy,” he said.