Santa Cruz Island June/July 2011

Spent 8 days on the island with Sara. We went to her Sauces and Upem Bishop Pine sites, camping some and staying at the field station some. Used a bunch of different vehicles, a 4x4 toyota pickup, a jeep, a Landcruiser, and a Kubota - basically a 4x4 golf cart. 'Twas my 2nd time there; she has spent over a year on the island all told. Lots and lots of photos, full album here. The highlights are a little disjointed because it was such a long trip, c'est la vie:

Scorpion, the NPS landing

Sauces, calzone and Black Butte Porter, fog coming over the saddle

predawn XPP measurement set up

lichen on old fence post from the ranching days

Bishop Pine

Sauces weather station

other side of the valley

the saddle, fog-free late afternoon

solar panel, anemometer, wind vane

later in the afternoon the fog came in...
...though the opposite ridge was still clear, Sara watercoloring

dinner 2nd nite

we had Tassajara gingerbread and yogurt for breakfasts, so good

toyota 4x4 pickup, parked at the field station to recharge the nitrogen tanks and recharge us, too...

Upem weather station, fog collectors lower left of image
chamise, it grows prostrate on the island
chamise with lichen


lots more sunset pics on picasa... I love sunsets into a fog layer

Upem site overview

from the pier at Prisoner's, while picking up Doug and Jasper

Doug and Sara, road out of Sauces, jeep

from Ridge Road, fog offshore but most of island hot and sunny

next day, looking down the valley at fog, but middle of island was sunny

Cruiser at Upem

Upem, fog in the channel, Santa Rosa in background

Bark beetle trails

Cruiser

Toys

What's up, Tiger Lily?

Kubota at Upem

SCI buckwheat

dirty, at pier at Prisoner's