Afton Canyon

[gordon c. snelling]

After many years of saying I was going to visit Afton canyon I finally broke down and made the horribly long smidge over an hour drive. I must say that I was very impressed by the area. Over the years the area had been invaded by tamarisk which had caused severe degradation of the habitat, however the BLM has actively been working to eliminate the plant and allow the area to recover.

Although the area is recovering there are still scattered tamarisk, however the river bed is healthy again with willows and various other native plants returning. In another month or so the cat tails will have taken over.







A few of the local residents.

Side blotch lizard


Banded gecko


An evil as insidious as the tamarisk, the all too common bullfrog


The greatest hazard of the day. The infamous horsefly, they bite.


A wasp having a mid day snack


The highlight of the trip, these two are part of the local herd that utilizes this area for water.

[reptilist]

Nice to see those rams! Thanks for posting!

[Mike C.]

Wow Gordon! I have no idea how I missed this thread. I first discovered AC one year when camping in Owl Canyon some 20 plus years ago. We decided to leave OC because of motorcycles riding back and forth in the campground. They would not reason with us even though I told them about all the roads in the area to explore. One look at the map and off we were for Afton. Cool find! The trains don't bother me as the river and exploring the cave-like area in the Cady Mountains rock. Thanks for the photos. Mike C. Brea Ca.

[Clifford]

Wow nice pics! Banded geko? wow! I had no idea there was a geko species in the desert! I have to add that to my desert wildlife bucket list. I have yet to see a sheep either.
I discovered Afton Canyon in May of 2010 when I drove the Mojave Road. I hiked to the caves and battled a horse fly there as well, I grew up in VA on the east coast and those things make me nervous as hell!
Why are bullfrogs bad? Do they eat larvae or other critters?
Also, I will NEVER forget the water crossing of the river after Afton- it was my FIRST trip in my new 4Runner 4x4 (my desert rigs prior: '73 Nova, '80 280ZX, '80 Camaro HAH!) and I got super nervous halfway across and stepped on the gas and water started flowing onto the hood- GULP!!
Amazingly all was well, I opened the hood right away to see if Moses and climbed under there and helped me out but really it just looked like the fan had sprayed some water around but no signs of significant submersion at all.

I plan on doing the Mojave Road again but extending the trip much longer and incorporating much more hiking and exploring on foot.
C

[gordon]

Bull frogs are bad because they eat everything that will fit in their mouths. They are a horribly destructive invasive species.