My mother moved to California in 2002. So in October, 2003, for the first time in my life, I traveled to California to visit her. I went again in October 2004 and again in October 2005.

For the 2003 and 2004 trips I flew to Las Vegas, rented a car, and drove around for a few days. Both trips basically followed the route
Vegas --> Barstow --> Bakersfield --> Fresno and back the same way, but in 2004 I went from Bakersfield to the Pacific coast near San Luis Obispo and followed the coast up to Monterey.

In 2005 I drove the entire distance to California and back from Valdosta, Georgia.

Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005 All Rights Reserved
I make no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the information on this website

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Photo taken 20 Oct 2005 approximately 9:30am; 35mm lens; Sensia film.

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I was driving south to north through Death Valley. (I went from Barstow, CA to Pahrump, NV that day.) The coyote ran across the road ahead of me (right to left, which is east to west). This was a little north of Badwater. The coyote was not terrified of me, but was not very cooperative either.

17 Oct 2005 -- 10:40am -- 100mm macro lens -- Kodak Ektachrome film

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Photo taken at 7:55am local time (which is 10:55am Eastern time). Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone, but does not celebrate Daylight Saving Time, so except during the winter, the clocks in Arizona are set the same as the clocks in California.

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Historic Route US66 runs east and west through Barstow. A busy railroad line parallels Route 66 to the north. There are two bridges in the downtown area over the railroad. The western bridge is the iron-framed structure in the first two photos. The third (rightmost) photo was taken from the other (eastern) bridge.

5 Oct 2004 -- 9:21am -- 16mm lens -- Sensia film
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I drove from Valdosta, Georgia to Fresno, California and back.

Total distance was 5883 miles.

I left Valdosta on 8 Oct 2005 (Saturday) and arrived at my sister's
home near Fresno on 14 Oct 2005 (Friday); left my sister's home 
on 16 Oct 2005 (Sunday) and got back to Valdosta on 24 Oct 2005 (Monday).

Cost breakdown:

   Motels (14 nights)  $581.33
   Gasoline             503.98
   Oil change            29.98
   National Park Pass    50.00
   Everything else      198.62
    (mostly meals)

         Total        $1363.91


The motel prices ranged from a high of $65.39 at Sam's Town in Las Vegas to
a low of $25.70 at the Taylor Motel in Van Horn, Texas.

Don't skip the Petrified Forest, if you're out that way. The scale is not as big as the Grand Canyon, but the landscapes look like they're from another world. And there's petrified wood.

Photo taken 21 Oct 2005 9:50am -- 35mm lens -- Sensia film.

Taken at Chinde Point on 21 Oct 2005 at 8:20am with Sensia film and 24mm lens.

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 All 2004 photos were taken with Pentax Spotmatic II using Fujifilm Sensia film. Lizard and tortoise photos taken with 100mm macro lens.

Other than the Western Fence Lizards, this is the only lizard that I spotted in California or Nevada in 2004. In 2003 I also saw some Whiptails (Racerunners) and the Alligator Lizard which I photographed.

These are abundant in the areas that I visited. They are almost identical in appearance to Eastern Fence Lizards.

In Mojave Desert south of Baker, California.

Florida has alligators and crocodiles. California has seals and sea lions.

I took the following from http://www.pinnipeds.org/
Marine mammels like seals are called pinnipeds.
There are 33 species of pinnipeds (worldwide). These are grouped as:
   seals
   sea lions/fur seals
   walruses

There are 18 species of seals, 14 species of sea lions/fur seals, but only one species of walrus.

In California there are three species of pinnipeds (1) Harbor Seal (2) California Sea Lion (3) Northern Elephant Seal.
The only species that I found was this one.

Photo was taken with a 300mm lens from a viewing area which was full of tourists.

Northeast of Las Vegas about 40 miles.

Six dollar per vehicle admission. Lots of odd shaped red rocks.

Photo taken with 28mm lens.

There was an iron in the room. I am sure that that also has a sensor which will charge you $15 if you touch it.

I flew from Jacksonville, via Atlanta, to Las Vegas and rented a car. The purpose was to visit relatives near Fresno, California.

I arrived in Las Vegas Monday evening, 6 Oct 2003. On Tuesday, 7 Oct 2003, I visited Red Rock Canyon, which is about 15 miles west of Las Vegas.

I drove into the Red Rock Canyon area on Highway 159. I stopped twice and walked a little to photograph the scenery and foliage. Then I stopped a third time at an area marked First Creek Hiking Trail.

I stayed at the Silverton Hotel and Casino, which is at the SW corner of Blue Diamond Road and Interstate 15. This is away from the congestion of the Las Vegas Strip and is convenient to Red Rock Canyon.

Donkey, ass, and burro are different names for the same animal -- Equus asinus My Webster New World College Dictionary says that they are called burros when they are used as pack animals.

On Wednesday, 8 October 2003, I drove from Las Vegas to Barstow, CA. That evening I drove south on route 247 to look for snakes. About 6 miles south of Barstow at 7:10 pm, I found this one crossing the road.

In four evening snake hunts -- two from Barstow and two from Las Vegas -- this is the only snake I found.

My sister's husband found this Alligator Lizard for me by lifting some wood on his property north of Fresno.

This lizard had a body about 6" long plus a tail about another 6" long. My brother-in-law said that this was a rather large individual.

Onward to page two
Page two contains more photos. Including a tarantula, a Jerusalem Cricket, and my nephew's pet Kingsnake.