Today we were heading back to civilisation aka San Diego. We drove through the desert to a diet of 1980s rock which seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I was seriously missing a horse called Chilli too. As normal, the drive included a brief birding detour, this time to the visitor centre of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It was a place I'd never heard of and wasn't aware we were stopping at and let's face it, it was a bit too nice for a birding detour. I was cor...

Finally my first lie in of the trip and it was worth the wait. It was followed by a visit to IHOP for breakfast and that was pretty damn good too. Treated self to a stack of cinnacakes - sinfully good pancakes with cinnamon filling and cream cheese drizzle. And if that wasn't enough, they came with two easy over eggs, hash browns and bacon. That was me sorted for the rest of the day. Mr F announced that as he'd already seen the bird he'd come to see (a yellow-le...

Off to the Salton Sea today so Mr F could bag a seagull which meant driving along the San Andreas fault. A little perturbing to say the least. Happy to report the earth did not move on this occasion. We also made a detour to a remote gas station so Mr F could have a go at spotting a Rufous-backed Robin. As attractive birding sites go, this place didn't rate too highly. I've spent time twiddle my thumbs in worst places though and this one did have one redeeming f...

Timed our early breakfast perfectly as fresh hot cinnamon rolls were being dished up. Good job we weren't dining alone as we'd have happily polished them all off. As Mr F headed out for some morning birding, I relaxed in front of the TV and prepped for my riding trip at noon. Remembering how black with horse grease my jeans got in Yosemite, I opted for my affectionately named 'jungle' trousers. Not too pretty but comfy, hard wearing and do an honest day's work -...

Okay so the flight was delayed 2hrs but, and this is a big but, I met my first ever friendly US immigration officer in Vegas! The trip has started well. We managed to beat down the price of the expected upgrade on our rental SUV and when the promised one turned out not to be available, wangled a Dodge Charger instead. In high spirits we left Vegas on the I-15 with ACDC turned up loud. The interstate seemed virtually empty on the 4 hr drive to Yucca Valley apart ...