The Great Squirrel Safari of 2022!

The Great Squirrel Safari of 2022

Well this epic expedition was supposed to happen in 2020, but a little bug called Covid-19 put a stop to that…. Who would have thought back then that the entire world would be on hold for over two years.  While we were very disappointed by our expedition to North America being suddenly canceled, it did force us to explore Thailand in far more detail than we could have imagined.  We visited all but a couple provinces while Thailand was “closed down” and added loads of species to my Thailand lists. 

So a long overdue trip to the USA was in order. Family was of course the main reason for my return to the USA, a country I promised myself to never return to.  And it was absolutely fantastic to see them all – after nearly a decade and a half!  And while enroute to a great family reunion, why not do a bit of wildlife-watching along the way!

I left the USA in 2010, and although I had most of the megafauna species under my belt, there were still many of the smaller mammals that I had never completely documented during my lifetime in the states.  So back in 2019 I started reading up on Mammalwatching.com trip reports regarding good locations for many of the mainly rodent species that I was hoping to finally see and document. 

With SO many great reports on the website, I was a bit overwhelmed with how daunting the task ahead would be.  Finding on Google Maps the best locations for all the Chipmunk and Ground Squirrel and Rabbit species of the American West, was a major task to begin with.  But then finding a viable route that would allow us to hit all of those spots in a reasonable manner during a simple summer vacation – WOW – pretty much impossible!  Especially when having my partner and daughter in tow! And combining it with a trip all the way across the country to Chicago, where my family was all going to meet up for a family reunion.

Well in 2022, the world was pretty much opening up – the USA especially – so we decided to give it a go!  USA expedition was back on!  The US Embassy did put a crimp in to the plans when we found out that my partner, Gift, would not be able to get a visa….332 day-cue for visa interviews – no exceptions and no cue cutting….  So with a fair amount of family discussion, it was decided that the expedition would still go on but with me AND my two-year-old daughter, Liana being the only ones traveling.  I had a LOT of people telling me I was utterly insane to attempt six weeks alone with a two-year-old.  Trust me, I was thinking the same thing – traveling on such an expedition with a two-year-old with no mommy on board!  Total insanity….

Fast forward – over 12,000 miles, 14 states and 126 taxa of mammals later, I can say that without exception, the “Great Squirrel Safari of 2022” was a complete success!  Liana was an absolute joy to travel with.  She contributed every step of the way on our trip.  Complete cooperation and participation – she was very engaged with our trip.  She loved the animals we saw and was sure to point out most of what we were seeing to me.  She was even the first one to spot a couple species!  (Being lower to the ground most likely 😉 ).  IT was great!  I should write a book about this “daddy-daughter” wildlife expedition.

Click here for link to images of Liana and Coke during the Great Squirrel Safari of 2022

Here is a map and list of the places visited on the Great Squirrel Safari of 2022 that included spots for mammals (CLICK the name of the location BELOW THE MAP for galleries of images from that location:

•  Muir Woods National Park

• Sue-Meg State Park

• Redwoods National Park

• Prairie Creek State Park

• Mount Rainier National Park

• Snake River Raptor Recreation Area

• Craters of the Moon National Park

• Yellowstone National Park

• Grand Tetons National Park

• Fossil Buttes National Monument

• Platte River Wildlife Area

• Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha

• Museum of Science and History Chicago

• Pawnee National Grasslands

• Rocky Mountain National Park

• Mt Evans Wilderness

• Kiowa National Grasslands

• Carlsbad Rio Grande Beach Park

• Cave Creek Ranch

• Madera Canyon

• Ash Canyon

• Grand Canyon National Park

• Saguaro National Park

• Tucson Mountain Park

• Casa Grande National Monument

• Flagstaff Arboretum

• Williams Bushbuck State Park

• Bryce Canyon National Park

• Red Rock National Monument

• Glen Canyon National Monument

• Canyonlands National Park

• Grand Canyon National Park

• Wasatch Mountains – Brighton

• Spring Mountains NRA

• Joshua Tree National Park

• San Jacinto National Forest

• Channel Islands National Park

• Mono Lake

• Yosemite National Park

• Elkhorn Slough

• Monterey Bay

 As this is meant to be a simple trip report, I will keep my discussions short and sweet – with basic information on the species encountered in the areas visited along with any tips for future travelers as well as updates for the locations for the many changes I noted from previous reports. Most images have links directly to the galleries with additional images of the species and their associated species. There are links for birds and reptiles encountered on the safari as well.

 Muir Woods National Park

Such a beautiful place so close to the megalopolis of the Bay Area.  After landing at SFO and getting one of the LAST THREE rental cars available at Enterprise for the summer, (holy hell what a rental car crunch the USA was experiencing!), we picked up a burner phone with Google Maps capabilities and hit the Golden Gate Bridge out of the city and on our way.  I have to admit it was surreal to be driving through the very neighborhoods of San Francisco that I actually lived in so many years ago and seeing that virtually nothing had changed at all – pretty much exactly the same as I remember from the mid 90’s!

On our approach to Muir Woods, I started seeing big signs flashing “Reservations Required”…. A bit puzzled and thinking, that can’t possibly be the case, I continued my approach to the parking area that I had parked freely so many times in the past.  Yup!  I was denied access!  “Sorry Sir, no reservations, no parking…” There were plenty of spots available but they were adamant – no reservations no way.  Finally one nice dude told me to drive a few kms down toward the coast where I could get a signal, I could possibly snag one of the last three reservations for the day which allowed me to come back a few hours later. 

This was my in-the-face intro to one of the many changes for visiting the National Parks of the USA. Although I did find that most places did not require reservations and I only got rejected by one location – Arches – I was able to secure reservations to other locations in time.  I was shocked to know that most people had made their reservations weeks ahead of time, but having no idea that this was a thing, I didn’t.  Moreover, my itinerary required last minute changes and decisions, and reservations were impractical.  Eventually I got the hang of the system and I started to see the wisdom in it.  They always left a few spots for last minute travelers such as myself and so long as I was one of the first ones on the system at 0800 AM, I could get a spot.  Sadly there were literally hundreds of travelers turned away at the gates at places such as Yosemite and the Rocky Mountains….and other locations. 

 Well after killing a few hours in Muir Beach picking up supplies and getting utter sticker shock with how expensive the USA had become, Liana and I made it to Muir Woods.  America had officially entered the realm of insanely expensive countries!  I was always pretty pleased with how affordable the states were before I left them…my attitude has now been corrected.  It was on this day that I realized that I had grossly underbudgeted for this trip.

The forest was as spectacular as I remember.  The Coastal Redwoods are simply one of the world’s most spectacular sights.  My target was the Sonoma Chipmunk, and although we did hear a few and saw one sprint across the trail, I consider this one of the very few fails of our trip.  I could put it on our list but I was not able to get a picture, which was my main goal.  I was however pleased to see many species of birds.  One of the rangers told me that the 4th of July crowd probably kept the Chipmunks in the bushes….  After a few hours of waiting for a Chipmunk to show, Liana and I decided to hit the road, as we needed to be further north to keep on schedule.  I was hoping this failure was not an omen…

 North on 101 to Redwood Country & Sue-Meg State Park

California 101 is one of world’s most beautiful highways to be sure.  I have traveled it dozens and dozens of times in the past and was very happy to be on it one more time before I die.  The Redwoods are just too much.  Liana and I stopped often for Chipmunk stops and to simply walk amongst these massive organisms called Sequoia sempervirens .  The day was unseasonably cold and very wet.  Consequently we did not see any small mammals really to speak of.  I did get glorious views and images of the Roosevelt Elk that are regulars at the Prairie Creek State Park Elk Meadows…And we entered Sue-Meg State Park north of Arcata as well in hopes for some California Brush Rabbits.  And we saw loads!  We were there at near dusk which is the best time to see them evidently.

 Day three was to be the beginning of the trend for the rest of the trip.  With the exception of the species I had on the target-list that were most likely in torpor (similar to hibernation), we successfully nailed all of my targets and many, many more.  So we dipped with the Sonoma and Allen’s Chipmunks, and a possible dip on the Yellow-cheeked in Northern California.  Below is a picture of one that might be a Yellow-cheeked and was photographed in an area of Siskiyou Chipmunk and Yellow-cheeked Chipmunk overlap on the distribution maps.  It’s ID is very tentative.  The coloration and size was very different and the owner of the feeders did say she was confident that two species visited her feeders.

 The below image of a Siskiyou Chipmunk was taken at the end of Church Road on the eastern outskirts of Crescent City, a location found in one of Mammalwatching.com’s trip reports.   The feeders on in the rear of the house and cannot be seen from the street and I almost left without seeing them but the owner came out to ask what I was up to thankfully. She was kind enough to invite Liana and me in for coffee and cookies while we watched the frenzy of activity at her feeders, which she keeps stocked every day and has done so for many years now.  She says that she is a regular stop for birders and mammalers. Very kind lady for sure and it was interesting for me to actually meet a TRUE Trumper for the very first time in my life.  I entered the twilight zone for sure….What an education that was!  But her feeders were excellent – one to two species of Chipmunks, great views of Douglas Squirrels and many species of woodland birds as well.

With my main Northern California targets either missed or caught, we decided to bolt straight for Mount Rainier, some six + hours away.  We did spin by the Tolowa Dunes State Park in Crescent City to try for a Porcupine.  Upon arrive we did spot a dead one but the park is locked for vehicular travel so we opted not to try for one and go north while we still had good light.  One of the limitations of traveling with a 2-year-old is the trekking….  We chose our treks carefully.  While Liana did a three-mile trek one day, it was basically an activity that we did sparingly, and that did limit our species list I suspect, but still, 126 taxa ain’t bad!  We got good views of Western Gray Squirrels along the road in to Oregon (too fast for pics though but I was pretty sure we’d see them again later in the trip), and a Chipmunk dashing across the road in what should be Allen’s Chipmunk territory, but I am not counting it because I saw no detail at all.  Could have been a Siskiyou too. 

Link to Birds of Western USA

 Mount Rainier National Park

I was very excited to be once again in my Washington State.  I wanted to visit my old home in Port Angeles, but there simply was not enough time to head across and get to Chicago in time for the big Family Reunion.  Rainier was our main spot to hit in Washington and of course it was for the endemic Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel.  I still think some consider it to be a controversial species.  We did get several more Douglas Squirrels and lots of Columbia Black-tailed Deer, but it did take me a few hours before I spotted a Golden Mantled GS in the Paradise area of the park, the main hotspot according to trip reports and iNaturalist. 

We completely dipped on Hoary Marmots sadly.  Paradise was still under a meter at least of snow even though it was mid-July.  The temps were near freezing in the morning and we were totally ill-equipped to attempt even a short trek up to their dens for an attempt.  I’d seen them before and had images in the collection already, so I was not too disappointed.  And the awesome views of the Golden Mantled GS made my day complete. 

 Prosser, Washington

I knew early on that my targets for Central Washington were going to be long shots.  All available data from reports and iNaturalist put the Townsend’s and Washington Ground Squirrels deep underground at this point of the summer.  I did visit their hotspots and sure enough, nada.  I did get a good view of our first Yellow-bellied Marmots in Prosser though.  I had no idea they would be in such a spot as I had always seen them in higher elevations and rockier habitats in the past.

Tammarack, Idaho

 We traveled onward to Tamarack Idaho, were I had solid information from Matt Wilson on the Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel hotspot.  And it was dead-on – we spotted a sizable colony within ten minutes of arrival and a short stroll down the bike path there.  Liana was awe-struck with the wildflowers and wanted to spend some quality time with them.  We had time and now we were at least a half day ahead of schedule already.

Morely Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey RA

We decided to camp out in the Moreley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey Recreation Area, in search of Badgers and Piute Ground Squirrels.  Matt Miller warned me that the Piutes were already in torpor due to the unseasonably hot weather of late.  He was not wrong.  I spotted hundreds of dens but not one squirrel to be seen.  We caught glimpses of Badger the night before and the morning gave us Black-tailed Jackrabbits, Mountain Cottontails, Great Plains Pocket Mouse and loads of raptors.  It was a good morning.

Click Here for Gallery of Birds of Western USA

 Craters of the Moon National Park

The last time I was at Craters of the Moon, I was a back-packing university student on a road trip with my buddy, and I remember it being intolerably hot.  But this year was awesome – perfect weather the camping was spectacular.  I really wanted to stay longer but we had a long way to travel yet.  Our time in the Craters was productive for targets – we nailed many Craters of the Moon Chipmunks, our first (of many) Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels, Yellow-bellied Marmots, Red Squirrels.  We dipped on Pika though.  One of the old reports made it sound like the Pika were quite easy there but when I consulted the rangers, they were quite pessimistic about my chances.  One ranger had worked there for five years and had never seen one.  So I suspect that Craters should not be a target location for future mammalers for Pika.  Head toward the Rockies (read those sections in this report for two hotspots).

 Yellowstone National Park

The last time I was in Yellowstone, it was in the dead of winter and we explored the park on snowmobiles.  It was amazing then to see the Bison in the snowbanks venturing near the hotsprings to keep warm.  This visit was interesting – the park had just experienced epic flooding and the news of the destruction kept the crowds to a minimum, which was good for us as we had no reservations. 

My targets for Yellowstone were pretty basic – just some better images of the mega-fauna that I had seen many times in the past and an attempt at Uinta Ground Squirrels, which I do not recall having seen before, although I most likely did on previous trips before my mammal-twitching days.  We were successful for all species except for Moose, which was elusive in all locations until the end of our expedition – more later on this species. Enjoy the Gallery below.

 Grand Tetons National Park

We left Yellowstone just as it was becoming dark and we on our way south.  I wanted to wake up with a view of the Grand Tetons, but I forgot just how desolate it is between the Tetons and the south entrance of Yellowstone.  With the exception of one or two insanely expensive and fully booked lodges, there are few options for places to stay.  I was thinking of Jackson Hole, but when I called ahead to book a Motel 6, the $312 price tag was a bit steep….There were no other places available there – the entire town was out of our price range.  Frickin’ insane prices.  So we decided to pull off north of town and car-camp.  When we woke the next morning there were at least twenty other cars doing exactly the same thing as us.  Spoke to a few of them and they were all complaining about how out of touch America has become for even the middle-class traveler….

We did have a glorious morning in the Tetons however.  We did manage some amazing vistas of the mountains and a new chipmunk – the Yellowpine Chipmunk.  Sadly we missed a giant bull Moose by about four seconds as we arrived just in time to see his bum heading back in to the woods…and several very happy photographers who had their perfect moose images…Dipped again! 

 Fossil Buttes National Monument

Not all that far from the rich conifer-filled mountains of Yellowstone and the Tetons, we found ourselves back in the sage-dominated biome in southwestern Wyoming.  Fossil Buttes was a spot I had never visited in the past but it is well worth the effort to get to.  Not only is it spectacular and very remote, it is a good spot for Mountain Cottontails, White-tailed Jackrabbits and White-tailed Prairie Dogs, as well as Least Chipmunks.  It was once a good spot for the Pygmy Rabbit, but the rangers there were sad to inform that it had not been seen in years.  That didn’t stop me from trying and we spotlighted most of the night with no luck though.  Wyoming Ground Squirrels were supposed to be there too although we found none.  Got some decent bird lifers.

As we ventured east for the major cross country run, we did make a pit stop at a very productive rest-stop – mile 144 along Route 80 in the eastward direction – where we found loads of habituated White-tailed Prairie Dogs as well as lots of Wyoming Ground Squirrels and even more Least Chipmunks.  Definitely some badgers too as there were several dens that appeared to be active as well.  Could be a good spot to hang out at night as I spotted at least 10 seemingly active Badger dens.

Click Here to See Gallery of Western USA Birds

Rest Area at Mile 144 Rte 80

 Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha

With several mammal and bird species under out belts by this point, it was time for the mega-drives – over a thousand kms to Chicago with one hopeful stop in Omaha!  I forgot how vast the prairies are.  Endless.  Still nice to see though. 

We had one stop planned during our cross-country spring – Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, where I had hopes of photographing the Franklin’s Ground Squirrels.  iNaturalist had a cluster of sightings at the zoo so I felt pretty good about my chances.  As far as zoos go, I think that Henry Doorly Zoo is probably one of the better ones in the country.  I was impressed by the exhibits and the animals seemed well cared for and had ample space to exist.  After a very hot morning searching for the Franklin’s GS, I was coming up empty!  Finally I met a group of young ladies who were volunteers in the zoo and they told me the best place was the Children’s Area and Animal Contact Area.  After a few minutes waiting by the snack bar, sure enough, Franklin’s GS’s came out of the brush for some chips!

 Chicago

Although I did make an attempt for Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels at Brookfield Zoo, no new species for me were to be had here.In Wheaton, however, I did manage a LOT of Homo sapiens in the form of family members.Surprisingly, suburban Chicago has a pretty decent species list for birds and mammals.We saw loads of birds and mammals including, North American Beaver, Muskrat, Fox Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, and Eastern Cottontail… all of which I had seen before and photographed but it was great to see them again.

 Pawnee National Grasslands

After a GREAT week with family in Chicago, back across the great plains again on the exact same road – Route 80.  Our first stop was Pawnee National Grasslands were I was pretty sure I could find some Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels.  Of course we did and it was nice to see them in what seemed to be healthy numbers.  I was hopeful but realistic about seeing a Swift Fox or two – no such luck.  We did manage several Pronghorns and lifer bird species for me.  Liana LOVED the grasslands and was quite sure the 13-lined Ground Squirrels were in fact kittens….To this day she is not convinced they are not. (She also thinks Black Bears are kittens too).

Click Here to See Gallery of Western USA Birds

 Mount Evans Recreation Area & Rocky Mountains National Park

It was a fairly quick drive from Pawnee to the Rocky Mountains where we spent three days exploring Mount Evans and Rocky Mountain National Park.  I’d visited Rock Mountain National Park several times in the past but Mount Evans Rec Area was a new destination for me.  I found it to be one of the most impressive places in all of the US for wildlife – huge numbers of Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goats, Yellow-bellied Marmots, Pika and even Long-tailed Weasels along the road to the summit, the highest point in the USA where one can drive a car!  Over 14,200 feet in elevation.  It didn’t take long before we were greeted by a female herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorns, nibbling the paint on the road…. (hmmm….) and shorty after, about twenty or so Mountain Goats.  There were loads of Yellow-bellied Marmots all over the place.  Rocky Mountain Elk were in the distance as well.  One of the high points was this very curious Long-tailed Weasel that came down to see us along the road.  It posed nicely.

Perhaps the best part of our Mount Evans experience was the lone American Pika that we came across who entertained Liana and me for nearly an hour!  We had great views of this little lagomorph – I was so happy to finally get some images of this species, one I had only seen briefly when I was a kid in Boy Scouts in the High Sierra.  Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels were very common in the lower elevations of Mount Evans near Echo Lake.

Rocky Mountains National Park offers the same sorts of habitats and transitions and the species list is about the same on paper as Mount Evans, however what we saw was actually quite different and definitely justified visiting both locations.  We met none of the megafauna of Evans in Rocky Mountains, except for Rocky Mountain Elk.  We did see loads of Yellow-bellied Marmots and Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels.  At Gore Range Overlook we spotted dozens of Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels and plenty of American Pika as well.  The lower elevations, near Hidden Valley, were good for Least Chipmunks and Wyoming Ground Squirrels as well as Red Squirrel.  We were hoping for a Moose or two as well but we dipped once again.  At this stage, we were pretty much resigned to having a Moose-less expedition.  I was disappointed only because I had yet to photograph one well over the years, although I had seen them many times in many locations in North American and Scandinavia.  Oh well, we had nothing to complain about.

Rocky Mountains National Park

 Kiowa National Grasslands

Once again back in the flatlands!  This time to another spot I’d never been to before – the Kiowa Grasslands of Northeastern New Mexico.  I’d heard rumors of Swift Fox there in the reports so I thought I would give it a go.  I must say it was the hardest place to actually find during our entire trip.  Google Maps was completely lost in this remote region of New Mexico.  It took nearly an hour along the gravel tracks to finally figure out that the actual grasslands was simply a section of roadless wilderness that was basically completely fenced in with really no access that I could ever find.  Eventually I did find a break in the fence where some vehicles had entered but quickly realized it was not a place for my rental Nissan Versa to attempt.  We parked and trekked in a bit and did find what I do believe to be Swift Fox tracks but other than a LOT of Pronghorn, we did not see much else.  It does seem like a great place for some spotlighting though.  With my Liana however I opted for continuing south to Carlsbad.

 Carlsbad New Mexico

Long since learning about the presence of “Mexican” Ground Squirrels in Carlsbad, I had hoped to visit for a look.  Ends up that these are now actually “Rio Grande Ground Squirrels”, with the true Mexican species deeper inside Mexico itself.  The town has not developed all that much since I last remember it some twenty years ago.  I used trip reports that stated the squirrels could be found in and around Dr Martin Luther King Park in the eastern section of town.  I did get an early start but could not locate any in that area, but I came across a couple young gardeners who were clearly working for the Lake Carlsbad Beach Park who knew the squirrels all too well and they directed me much further north in to the area around the “Bandshell”, where most of the people seemed to congregate while I was there.  This area had dozens of the little squirrels and served two purposes – the playground allowed Liana to get in her playtime while daddy shot his silly squirrels.  Great morning!

 Davis Mountains Texas

Driving down to Texas was definitely not on my original plan, but after chatting with my brother Phil, I was convinced to give the Davis Mountains a shot.  I’d traveled there in the early 90’s when I was purely interested in beetles to visit the famous Combined Scientific Insect Supply company.  At the time, I remember being impressed with the rugged landscape of this part of Texas, a state what I usually found completely unimpressive. 

I was not really sure what the target species should be for this location as all I knew was there was some good bird blinds in the State Park.  A bit of research showed me that there were Barbary Sheep in the mountains there!  They were introduced from Northern Africa, but I thought it would be pretty cool to try for that species once again after coming up completely empty when we were trekking the Atlas Mountains of Tunisia.  And sure enough, literally minutes after entering the canyons of the Davis Mountains, I had several of them up in the rocky crags! 

Other mammals included Collared Peccary (Javelina), Davis Mountains Cottontail, an endemic to this region, Texas Mule Deer, Rock Squirrels and loads of birds.  Liana loved the area and we opted for a couple days there. 

 Chiricahuas and Cave Creek Ranch

After a spectacular and somewhat depressing drive across southern New Mexico, we were on to my old home, the Sky Islands of Southeastern Arizona, one of my favorite places on this planet.  The drive from the Davis Mountains through the extreme southern part of New Mexico was awesome.  I don’t think I passed another car for over a hundred miles!  New Mexico Rte 9 hugs the Mexico border which seemed, sadly, to be completely covered by the racist Trump Wall.  I was shocked to see how extensive his stupid wall was….It ended a bit west of City of the Sun if I am not mistaken.  There were thousands of segments of this wall simply rusting in the desert sun in a massive compound there.  The complete waste of money is astounding, but the ecological harm it has no doubt caused is immeasurable.

Approaching the eastern slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains was like coming home.  My time there in the early 90’s was simply some of the best times in my life.  Living in Madera Canyon as a base, I spent many months exploring the Chiricahuas, the Huachucas and the Santa Ritas in great depth.  Like all of the destinations on this expedition, I never thought I would return.  Yet here I was!  With my Liana!

Cave Creek Ranch was the place to be for sure.  World famous among the birding, bugging and mammaling crowd, it is simply the mecca for this part of the world for nature lovers.  Definitely out of my price range, I couldn’t even afford one night let alone the three days we ended up staying.  It was well worth it.  Cave Creek Ranch is a small protected portion of paradise with loads of critters, many of whom were born there and had spent their entire lives there and are therefore fairly habituated.

By the end of our stay there, we managed several species of mammals, including Coues’ White-tailed Deer, Coati, Cliff Chipmunks, Rock Squirrels, Javelina, Striped Skunk, Hooded Skunk and Bobcat.  There was nonstop bird action in the feeding stations of the ranch as well. 

While there I met loads of fellow nature-enthusiasts, but the high point was re-uniting with some old friends!  By pure chance, one of my colleagues from Cosumnes River College, Susan Scott and her husband.  And an old Bug-collecting buddy, Art Evans was at the resort as well!  What a trip it was to meet both of these old friends in such a remote place during a trip I thought I would never do again.  So cool.

One of the most sought-after mammal species of this area is the endemic Apache (Mexican) Squirrel.  Rumored to be a visitor of the Ranch itself, I learned that it is actually never seen there.  One needs to get deeper in to Cave Creek Canyon itself.  I finally found one on South Fork Road a few kms east of the Southwest Research Station.  They are also found at the Station fairly regularly too.  I traveled all the way up to Rustler Park as well in hopes of more wildlife photo ops.  Came across more Cliff Chipmunks but not much else.  The entire time at in Chiricahuas we were experiencing some good monsoon rains and the temperatures were downright cold for this area this time of year.

One of the species we dipped on that I was sure we’d see was the Arizona Gray Squirrel.  Got information that they were common up in Ash Canyon where there was possibilities of seeing a Montezuma Quail, one of the few birds I would kill to see.  So we drove to Ash Canyon for some birding and a hopeful Gray Squirrel.  We did manage one Arizona Gray Squirrel in the Canyon but no quail.  Got some great hummingbirds though…They are so cool!

 Madera Canyon

I was home!  This was without a doubt the most remote place I’ve ever lived that I can call home.  Although I only spent about 8-9 months over a couple years living in my campsite in Bog Springs Campground doing my graduate research, Madera Canyon became a place that has become part of me.  I will never forget my time there…Great times and not-so-great times….

Madera was very wet and cold.  Not the best weather for wildlifing….And the weather reports were predicting huge monsoon downpours followed by deadly flashfloods….  I’d been in the middle of those in the past and knew they were nothing to mess around with.  Knowing that I had my little baby Liana in tow, I decided to cut my time in Madera Canyon short. We did manage to get several more Arizona Grey Squirrels, Rock Squirrels, Northern Raccoons, Coati, Black-tailed Jackrabbits, but dipped on one of my main lagomorph targets, the Antelope Jackrabbits.  I will come back through again – I promised myself.

 Saguaro National Park & Tucson Mountain Park

From Madera and the cold monsoons, we hit the desert again and within a few miles we were deep in the heat once again.  A species that I failed to tick up to this point was Harris’s Antelope Squirrel, which should have been easy but wasn’t.  I noted via iNaturalist that Saguaro NP and Tucson Mountain Park had several sightings but I was unable to see any….I had a feeling however that the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum would probably have some scurrying around the grounds of the outdoor museum.  Sure enough, I finally spotted several that allowed for decent images as well.  I’d visited the museum some years ago and was impressed then and I continue to have high opinions of its displays and educational benefits.  Highly recommend.

Click Here for Gallery of Reptiles & Amphibians of the Great Squirrel Safari of 2022

 Casa Grande Ruins

Our destination was Case Grande Ruins, where we were hoping for Round-tailed Ground Squirrels, which we did spot very quickly in the parking and picnic areas of the ruins.  I find it interesting that some species of ground squirrels enter torpor during the hot months yet species like the Round-tailed Ground Squirrels can be seen in the middle of the day in extreme heat with no issue at all…

 Seligman, Route 66

We made it to Seligman Arizona later that evening with enough time to check in to a cheesy thematic motel that Liana absolutely loved!  The goal for this location was the reintroduced Black-footed Ferrets that were fairly regularly spotted west of town some years ago.  However these have not been spotted in a long long time now.  And it is suspected that this population has been extirpated now.  We did spot light for several hours along the route but with little luck.  Most of the route is covered with high profile weeds long both sides of the road so spotlighting was virtually impossible.  This was disappointing as the few spots that were weedless we did see loads of Black-tailed Jackrabbits, good numbers of Ord’s Kangaroo rats and other small mice species we never were able to ID.  Even got a nice Gray Fox.  So the stop was definitely worth it even though the ferrets seem to be long gone.

 Williams, Arizona

With reports of Gray-collared Chipmunks, Abert’s Squirrels and Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs, we searched the greater William’s area.  Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs were easily seen in a couple locations but the best spot by far was in the vacant fields surrounding the Quality Inn just north of I-40.  There were hundreds of these cuties! I suspect their days may be numbered though as there appears to be some substantial development across the street that may spill over to their colony.  Hope not. 

iNaturalist pointed toward Buckskinner Park for a possible location for Abert’s Squirrels and Gray-collared Chipmunks, but after about an hour of searching, I came up empty.  I was still hopeful however as the Flagstaff Arboretum just an hour or so down the road was purported to be a good spot for both.

 Flagstaff Arboretum

We made to Flagstaff by late morning and immediately spotted many Gray-collared Chipmunks all over the arboretum.  Liana loved the arboretum with the easily approached Chipmunks (oops, I mean kittens) and South Rim Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels (also kittens) that were found everywhere.  Strangely, even though we were shown two active Abert’s Squirrel nests, the personnel of the arboretum told us that is now very difficult to actually see the squirrels and there are none that are actually habituated currently.  They mentioned that the Abert’s Squirrel as a species is becoming increasingly rare and is rarely spotted these days anywhere in their range.  Worrisome.  Luckily a lecturer at the arboretum told me to drive up down Woody Mountain Road (the road in front of the arboretum) and watch for them along the road.  Sure enough, I finally spotted one – a female with a bare tail!  I was happy to finally confirm this lifer.  Although I had been to Flagstaff and the South Rim countless times in the past, I don’t recall ever seeing an Abert’s Squirrel before.

 North Rim Grand Canyon

The drive from Flagstaff to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is epic.  There are very few drives anywhere in the world that are more spectacular.  Liana and I took our time and enjoyed the sights and spent time with short treks in places like the Painted Desert and Glenn Canyon areas before calling it a day and bush-camping somewhere on the Kaibab Plateau.  A bit of trapping gave us a great look at a Pinyon Mouse and a small trek gave us some Kaibab Deer. 

The morning drive to the North Rim was awesome.  The fire scars of the tens of miles of forest that evidently burned a few years earlier was as spectacular as it was depressing in it scale and level of severity.  The slowly regenerating burnscape did allow easier views of Kaibab Deer and even a California Condor.  I was happy to see the fire missed the expansive meadows that are found north of the North Rim area. 

Our primary target was of course the spectacular Kaibab Squirrels that are the evolutionary cousins of the South Rim’s Abert’s Squirrels.  It was awesome to see the Grand Canyon one more time in this life but I was a bit disappointed to find out that Kaibab Squirrels have been virtually exterpated now in the North Rim ecosystem.  One of the rangers I consulted mentioned that in her years of service there, she’d only seen three. She did inform me however that Jacob Lake, the town I simply drove through a couple hours earlier, was home to one of the last populations that were easily accessible now.  She mentioned that the squirrel species is now being considered to be reclassified to Critically Endangered… Sad.

After getting a good dose of the Grand Canyon, and a few more pics of yet another species of Least Chipmunks, we headed back up the road to Jacob Lake. I thought the Kaibab Camper Village would be a logical spot to start my search and sure enough, it took less than a minute to find the now very elusive Kaibab Squirrel sprinting across the road heading into the campgrounds.  It did not allow much of a photograph so I decided to try for better images. 

After talking to the Camp Host, I was invited to his site where he and his wife actually fed the squirrels with a feeder and that they would see several every day without fail.  Although it was mid-day and he wasn’t too optimistic about my chances so late in the day, he did put out some more sunflower seeds just in case.  Liana and I were invited to spend all the time we needed on his camp patio to get a good shot at the Kaibab Squirrel.  It took over an hour but a beautiful specimen finally came out of the woods and gave us a long show.  Interestingly the feeders also attracted the North Rim Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels and Colorado Chipmunks!  Colorado CMs were a species I had basically written off as their range was simply too far out of the way of our planned itinerary, but I learned later after actually returning to Thailand, that they were the species I’d photographed at the feeders at Jacob Lake. Nice! There may in fact be three species of chipmunks on the North Rim as Uinta are reported there as well.

 Bryce Canyon

As spectacular the Grand Canyon is, I have always felt that it has nothing on Bryce.  What an amazing place.  My target there was my fourth Prairied Dog species for the trip – the Utah Prairie Dog.  But a trip to this part of America really needs to include Bryce, with or without a target species in mind!  Bryce Canyon does have many designated and well-signed areas for the Utah Prairie Dogs, but we were not successful in seeing them close enough for good images.  There were plenty but they were a bit far off and beyond the range of my lenses.  Luckily there was a Prairie Dog town right in Bryce Canyon City directly surrounding the Bryce Canyon City Office building.  I spent one late afternoon and the next early morning photographing the lovely ground squirrels in much better proximity than those seen inside the National Park itself.

 Brighton & the Wasatch Mountains Utah

Still a couple days ahead of schedule, and a bit of credit left on the VISA card, and having dipped on Moose in all locations thus far, I decided to head even further north in to the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.  Ironically this stop brought us to within a few miles of where we were earlier in the expedition when we were in the Mount Evans area of Colorado!  This was insane but again, what did I have to lose except for some more $$$ in gas!  We had the time for sure.

So we headed to the town of Brighton, Utah, the location that iNaturalist showed had more Moose sightings than virtually any place in the greater Rocky Mountains area.  There were literally hundreds of sightings posted in iNaturalist so I thought this location would give us good chances to finally photograph this elusive species….elusive for us anyway.

Once we entered the Brighton area, I was disappointed to see that the area was simply jam-packed with tourists.  Brighton is a very popular sky destination for the locals in Utah and clearly it was an equally popular summer destination.  I did not hold any hope at all of seeing a Moose after seen just how many people there were in the town.  Liana and I did trek around Silver Lake, where most of the sightings had been.  While we did see loads of Uinta Ground Squirrels and Uinta Chipmunks and Red Squirrels, there was no Moose to be seen.  I met a gentleman that said he’d seen some just down the road a few minutes earlier and he was thinking they were heading toward the Silver Lake area.  His message was encouraging for sure but I was still a bit pessimistic of our chances with this many tourists in and around the lake.

Liana and I decided to relax for a few hours I the picnic grounds at the entry point toward the lake. Surrounded by habituated and aggressive Uinta Ground Squirrels, we killed time Facebooking and catching up with emails and messages.  Out of the blue I heard a man yell out, “Moose”!  Sure enough, a young bull in velvet antlers came strolling through the reeds of the lake!  We had a great show with this massive Cervid.  I have seen Moose on two continents in four countries, but today’s sighting was the best of all.  It was a big gamble to drive all this way on a holiday weekend with the remote chance of seeing a Moose, and it actually paid off!  It could have just as easily been a bust too…We were very luck indeed.

 McWilliams Campground Mount Charleston, Nevada

After our extreme diversions in Utah, we were back on our planned expedition routing.  McWilliams Campground was a spot I’d read about in Jon Hall’s trip reports for a good location for Palmer’s Chipmunks.  The area in general is absolutely spectacular and is truly one of the more impressive Sky Islands that Southwestern USA is famous for. 

I think it was less than a minute before we started spotting Palmer’s Chipmunks in the campground.  We spotted at least a dozen along with the ubiquitous Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels we’d been seeing all over the west.  With many images under our belts, we started down the road for the second Chipmunk species – the Panamint Chipmunk – literally just a few miles away from the McWilliams Campground area, there was a completely different habitat – a rainshadow forest in fact.  Panamint Chipmunks were a bit more challenging to find but we did get a quick glimpse at the spectacular Desert Viewpoint.  There were better views to be had however at Hilltop Campground just a bit further down the road.  There were several seen in the campground area.

 Boulder City Nevada, Hemenway Park

On the way to the McWilliams Campsite we made a quick stop at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to spend some time in the desert in the middle of the heat of the day!  While we did not see much in the refuge itself, aside from a quick glimpse of a White-tailed Antelope Squirrel, we did get some information from the ranger of a location down in Boulder City where we could possibly see Desert Bighorn Sheep up close.  Now I had seen Desert Bighorns many times in the past, I was never very happy with my images, and considering we were still ahead of schedule, I thought “why not”!  So the next thing I knew, we were hitting rush hour traffic in Vegas and heading south to Boulder City and Lake Mead. 

We arrived at Hemenway Park, where the Bighorn Sheep from the surrounding mountains are purported to come down daily to relax and graze on the fresh green grasses of the park.  Evidently we’d just missed a large herd with some locals said left the park minutes before our arrival.  They assured me that we had another chance early the next morning though.  Liana and I made it a point to be at the park at first light and sure enough we had a very private experience with two frisky Desert Bighorn rams, a desert Coyote and loads of Desert Cottontails.  Hemenway is definitely one of the best places in the west to see this spectacular species up close and in good numbers.

 Joshua Tree National Park

This was a summer of truly strange weather.  All over the west, we’d not only missed any serious heat, and we were either chasing or being chased by massive rainstorms.  While monsoon rain patterns this time of year are actually very normal, the severity and magnitude of this year’s storms were epic.  Death Valley was virtually wiped out by a thousand-year flood while we were just about the enter.  Most of the roads in and out of Joshua tree were closed down due to washouts too!  We had to take a very circuitous route to get to Joshua Tree.  My target there was California Chipmunk.  However, even with the unseasonably cool summer thus far, we missed this species due to them being in torpor by this point.  We did manage some California Ground Squirrels and finally some good views of even more White-tailed Antelope Squirrels.  Although we were out of luck with our main target species, I was thrilled to be back in Joshua Tree again.  I really miss the days when I lead field courses from Sierra College to the area during my “Deserts of Southern California” field courses, some of my best times teaching for sure.

 Lake Hemet & Idyllwild Nature Center, San Jacinto National Forest

Having dipped on California Chipmunks in Joshua Tree, we had another chance up in the San Jacinto Mountains, just east of the LA Basin, up from Palm Springs.  The area was another spot I’d never explored in the past and I found it to be absolutely spectacular.  My first spot to try was the Lake Hemet Picnic Area, where there were sightings of the chipmunks on iNaturalist and other trip reports.  With the exception of tons of California Ground Squirrels, no Chipmunks were to be found. 

Idyllwild Nature Center was another location famous for the California Chipmunks according to trip reports.  Interestingly there were no iNaturalist sightings noted.  We did spend quite some time at the Nature Center, and an encouraging naturalist who says he sees them often, we did not spot any chipmunks.  He was pretty sure that the local chipmunks were not California CM’s and that they had a “person’s name” in the common name.  We did see Rock Squirrels and Western Gray Squirrels however.  Some good birds were seen in the center’s feeding station as well.  I would still recommend the location for future rodent-watchers as I think a bit earlier in the summer months it would be a good spot.  I am not convinced however that the species there is in fact the California Chipmunk.  I am thinking they may be Merriam’s possibly.

 Ventura & Channel Islands National Park

From the gorgeous mountains surrounding the LA Basin down now into the madness that is the greater LA area, we were finally on our way to the spot that was actually the impetus for this expedition that started my planning many years ago.  I had passed the signs for the Channel Islands National Park cruises countless times in my life but I had never actually ventured to the islands, with the exception of Anacapa Island, where I went with NOAA on an educator’s field course some years ago.  I always wanted to see the Channel Island Fox for decades and now we were heading to Ventura Harbor with the fox as our target!

After an expensive night in perhaps the most filthy motel I have ever spent time in (in ANY country), we found the Island Packers Cruises launch and we were on our way to Scorpion Ranch!  The cruise was spectacular and we did spot a few Common Dolphins along the way.  We actually encountered a megapod of Long-beaked and Short-beaked Common Dolphins on the way back at the end of the day.

At Scorpion Ranch we encountered Island Foxes within about a half an hour while staking out the campgrounds.  All in all we encountered at least ten Island Foxes!  I was so happy to see this very rare animal.  I was a bit blown away at how easy it was to see them.  The docent at the ranch said it right when I asked him where we could find the foxes.  He said, “You will not find the foxes, they will find you!”  And find me they did!  And of course, Liana was convinced they were kittens…

 Wheeler Canyon & Chuchupate Campgrounds, Frasier Park, Los Padres National Forest

Mojave Desert Tortoise Natural Area

I knew I stood virtually no chance of spotting the Mojave Ground Squirrels but I decided to drive to their hotspot anyway just for a glimpse of their world.  Sure enough they were nowhere to be seen, I did see hundreds of their dens in and around the area.  Perhaps someday I might make it back during the right time of year and get see them along with some of the other species I had missed on this expedition due to the season. 

 Mammoth & June Lake California

From the Mojave Desert to the Eastside of the Sierra is a trip that everyone should experience.  The scenery and the transitions are truly outstanding.  I was hitting the Sierra for some more of those awesome Chipmunk species that California is famous for.  Mammoth was also a spot that iNaturalist mentioned being a good spot for Belding’s Ground Squirrels as well as Lodgepole Chipmunks.  The Chipmunks were quite easy to spot in the Motel 6 gardens and the scree slope of the Canyon Lodge area, but no Belding’s to be found.  Another hotspot on iNaturalist at the children’s playground at June Lake, but I was a bit late in the day and none were out at that time.  We did see some spectacular Mule Deer bucks however that were very habituated.

 Mono Lake

Before entering Yosemite, we stopped off at Mono Lake for some scenery and good memories!  I was so happy to once again be on the shores of this awesome lake.  Liana and I took one of her longest treks on the trip.  She was such a good trekker – I think it was nearly three miles! I had a chance to show Liana the classic Mono Lake food chain – the algae to the flies to the gulls and phalaropes.  She seemed to appreciate the lecture!  😉 Liana even found another subspecies of Kitten (Least Chipmunk).  She’s a natural wildlife spotter!

 Yosemite National Park & Saddlebag Lake

With reservations already made, we were on the way to Yosemite!  With a stop first at Saddlebag Lake in search of Alpine Chipmunks and Belding Ground Squirrels.  There were Belding’s Ground Squirrels all over the campground area of the lake.  And there were loads of Chipmunks as well.  Sadly my excitement of seeing both species so easily I neglected to take a close look at the Chipmunks, which I was assuming were Alpine as the trip reports only mentioned that species being found there.  It wasn’t until after returning to Thailand and posting images online, that I found out that they were in fact not Alpine but were the much more common, Lodgepole Chipmunks.  Had I paid more attention in the field I probably could have found some as I was surely in the right spot for them.  Well at least I got some good shots of more Lodgepole Chipmunks.  At the entrance of the Saddlebag Lake Road, at Junction Campground, we did get a good shot of a Long-eared Chipmunk.

Once we entered Yosemite National Park we stopped at most pull outs and campgrounds in search of whatever we could find.  While both Long-eared and Lodgepole Chipmunks were seen in multiple locations we were mainly enjoying the lovely scenery and awesome vistas of the batholiths that Yosemite is famous for.  I simply love this place.  We did venture into the very congested Yosemite Valley where we spotted Sierra Mule Deer and even a Cinnamon (Black) Bear!  The scenery of the valley is simply mind blowing and I was happy that we visited the area.

 Elkhorn Slough & Monterey Bay

With still a day or two to spare on our expedition AND a few more dollars on my VISA card before being maxed out, Liana and I decided to B-line it to Monterey to try for a Blue Whale, which was another species that I’d always wanted to see but had yet to twitch.  Before our morning whale watching cruise, Liana and I boarded the electric powered catamaran Elkhorn Slough Ecotours cruise to spend a splendid afternoon in the slough photographing many California Sea Otters, Harbor Seals and more California Sealions along with many bird species.  I’ve always loved the slough with many childhood memories of the area. 

The whale watching cruise was excellent.  After some time with a few Pacific Humpback Whales, we actually got a good view of a magnificent Blue Whale!  We were very fortunate indeed.  It was a great way to end our expedition with this cetacean lifer for me and Liana.  We also spent time with two different pods of Risso’s Dolphins were an absolute pleasure to watch at very close proximity.  Monterey Bay rarely disappoints and surely still ranks as one of the world’s best places for cetacean viewing.