Fossil Canyon

Monday the 22nd

Not much going on today. We are spending our time relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. We are back in shorts and tank tops.

Shot a little pool in the morning, there were 12 guys playing "One and Fifteen Eight Ball", six - two man teams playing on three 9' Olhausen tables. Most are pretty good players but only one is shooting at my level and I'm still improving and having a good time at the table.

Lot's of Olympics - Curling, Skiing, Skating, I love it all!!

Tuesday the 23rd

Well, the kids are a little slow to adjust to time zone changes. When the "Punky" Alarm went off it was only 6:00 AM. The light was just coming in through the blinds. Oh well, I managed to get up and moving so they could go out for their walk. It's so nice to be able to go out with them and not have to be dressed for 40 degree weather.

After breakfast Tina let me go shoot pool with the guys for a couple of hours. When I got back we drove into El Centro for lunch at La Fonda Mexican Restaurant, not bad but needed more heat, then we drove west on I-8 to the small desert town of Ocatillo.

Following the Imperial Highway through town we turned off on Shell Canyon Road and drove into the southern part of Anza Borrego Desert. After three miles of paved road we hit the unpaved portion, fortunately not a off road dirt track, so we were able to drive pretty much all the way to the end of the road.

Eventually Tina said "Whoaa" and I pulled off to the side of the road just before a gully wash. Changing into our hiking shoes we slowly made our way along the remaining road to the head of the canyon passing through hills of mudstone that had been pretty much carved up by desert bikes and 4 wheelers - leaving quite beautiful designs in the dirt.

A mile from the car we reached the gate at the head of Fossil Canyon, which is restricted to foot traffic only. As we passed the hills of sandstone and aggregate of the ancient sea bed, we saw strata of embedded shells and fossilized coral. This area we were walking through is thought to be about 50 million years old.

A study done in 1916 by Dr Thomas Vaughn revealed that the Carrizo Creek reef-coral is actually related to the Atlantic rather than the Pacific. Apparently, at one time the Atlantic and Pacific were connected by a waterway in Central America. When the passage closed, the Atlantic Coral in the Pacific became extinct. The fossils found in this canyon are the only evidence that this coral once existed in the Pacific.

We hiked about a mile into the canyon until the fossil strata went back underground then turned back for the car. Between the wind and rain, erosion in the canyon has left caves and holes all along the cliff sides making it a very interesting hike.

Everywhere you looked, large chunks of decomposed granite were lying about, large flakes of mica reflecting the sun. We picked up several pieces of rock that looked like they had veins of gold running through them.

We made it back to the car, changed shoes and drove back home. With books in hand, we took the dogs out to the patio where we sat and read for a while. When it was time for dinner, Tina handed me a couple of nice pork steaks to grill. Dinner was yummy!! After dinner we checked out the poker game over at the card room and decided to take a pass so we spent the evening watching the Olympics. A nice ending to a great day.

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