help me plan my road trip

[widowkeeper]

late april i will be traveling through oregon,cali, arizona,nevada the only stops we have decided on for sure are sacramento and joshua tree in cali.phoenix and grandcanyon in az and vagas in nevada
the idea is the family gets to see the sites me and my son get to look for tarantulas and other spiders.
so what im hoping for is locations with criters within 100miles of anything worth seeing

befor anyone asks i am not big on taking critters from the wild however in areas where devlopment is destroying the habitat i find it a lil more acceptable

 

[MarkmD]

I've got no idea where to find T's in that area, but good luck and hope u have a nice holiday.

 

[Shrike]

Yosemite. If you're starting in OR, you can stop there on your way to Joshua Tree. You won't regret it!

 

[widowkeeper]

thank you shrike, to behonest Yosemite didnt even cross my mind i decided to set a day aside for the stop , the plan is to stay at don pedro res. and head out early for yosemite then continue on to Joshua Tree then into az , i would love to see these dwarf species ,trap doors hell just about any t or mygalomorphae cali has to offer befor leaving cali so speak up peeps

still looking for places to stop i will have a couple days in cali az and neveda with lots of driving and time between i have several days set aside for random stops and places

 

[JZC]

probably going to mostly find aphnopelmas

 

[widowkeeper]

i would be happy with finding anything i just want to see critters in their natural habitats.its finding them with limited time at each stop is gonna be a challenge but fun thats what its all about

 

[zonbonzovi]

Hi widowkeeper,

Not sure if you saw this but since you're going to be in the area you may get lucky and find some burrows:

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-092699-200205/unrestricted/etd.pdf

Have fun and take lots of photos!

 

[The Snark]

If you have the time and want to check out desert dwellers, Anza Borrego State Park. bordered by the Salton Sea. Many rare and unique animals and plants. The problem is, the park is gigantic. One friend went collecting there, spent the entire summer filming and photographing, and never managed to cover 1/4 of the place.

My suggestion if you want a vast spectrum of desert wildlife is jump over to Mono Lake from Yosemite, work your way down the Owens Valley (a side trip to the Bristlecone Pine forest is well worth the time), swing on out through Joshua Tree and head on south to Anza.

PS If you want more specifics feel free to PM me. That's my old stomping grounds.

 

[widowkeeper]

thank you zonb and snark if either of you have any more info i would to have it

thank you to all for your imput so far i think i have penty of places in cali to stop on my way to az
when i find the time to post my stops in cali i would love to have more info on them, we wil be very limited on the amount of time at each spot so the more detailed the better

 

[zonbonzovi]

The lowlands near the bases of the AZ mountains will at least produce some burrows where you can tickle out Aphonopelma. If you get the chance to visit any of the areas known as the Sky Islands they are very unique with a plethora of habitats(and it will get you out of the flatlands). I agree with The Snark about Anzo-Borrego...lots of miles to cover where it seems like there is nothing and all of a sudden you'll find interesting beasties en masse. Since there is so little water out there, the creatures seem to congregate where there is access, at least seasonally. So many possibilities. Maybe try and stay away from development/farming. It's a wacky time of year so who knows what you'll come up with. Oh...Mojave is worth a visit and the driving/stopping on the Apache Trail W. of Phoenix is a good'n. Have fun

 

[khil]

Anza borrego is the best place, but the park is off limits for touching anything. Not sure about oregon but driving up to norcal isn't worth it. Everywhere is a protected park or private land, and not much in the way of insects over an inch long anyway.