San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Pongo Gets Back in the Navigator's Seat

July 26, 2015

It's been over a month since I've taken Pongo out on the road.  I would have loved to take him on the road trip with me, but National Parks don't tend to be friendly to dogs.  There are a few exceptions.  The South Rim of the Grand Canyon, for instance, has a very long paved trail right along the edge of the canyon and dogs can walk the entirety of it.  That's the exception, though.

Texas Burger, Gustine, CA

Pongo

We stopped in Gustine for gas and grub.  Texas Burger has become our regular stop on this drive.  It has a walk up counter outside so Pongo doesn't have to wait in the car.  Their burgers are OK.  Pongo likes the fries.

If it was winter I'd have tried to hit both the Merced and San Luis wildlife refuges.  Merced is probably even better for  birds, but in the summer it's mostly a big field with blackbirds and sparrows.  San Luis always has the elk reserve if the birds aren't around.  We see more cows on the drive to the Merced complex, which is a big bonus for Pongo.  He loves seeing those cows.

Ash-throated Flycatcher -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We saw a couple of deer in the underbrush.  Pongo didn't see them until they ran.  They made an awful lot of noise.  He thought that was exciting.  I was surprised at how nervous they seemed by the presence of our car.  I guess I'm used to the urbanized deer in the Bay Area and Monterey.

Black-tailed Deer -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

We got a few good looks at the tule elk in the reserve.  Sometimes the elk are too deep in the interior to get any pictures.  There were a couple of groups of males near the perimeter yesterday.  It looks like they've shed most of the velvet from their antlers.  Soon they'll be pointing those things at one another as they try to woo the ladies.

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA