As most should be aware, this blog is connected to The REAL Desert Dogs.  We use it mostly to find cool and interesting stories and tell you the reader about it.  That, and we generally want to keep up with what’s going on in the desert.

Well, The Desert Dogs have just came out with their new video, Part 2 of The Will of the Inyos.

On Friday the 13th of May 2011, The Desert Dogs hiked to Beveridge City, a ghost town located deep in the Inyo Mountains. They approach from the west side, in Saline Valley.

In the previous episode, they took a wrong turn, ran over a gopher snake, and got their vehicle stuck. After resolving their situation a few hours later, they finally find their way, but not without using up plenty of gasoline.  Since they’ve already passed the point of no return, they resolved to continue their journey.

This film is dedicated to all people who enjoy a good adventure.

The REAL Desert Dogs

A post at PanamintValley.com with the most recent video from The REAL Desert Dogs has sparked a heated debate.  In the video, the four explorers get stuck, burn a lot of gas, and finally make it into Saline Valley.   They have about a 1/4 tank of gas left, and claim to be 100 miles from the nearest town.  In reality, it’s only about 70 miles, which is still pretty far.

The controversy began when one person speculated whether the Desert Dogs are in fact advocating going into the desert unprepared.  “My concern is folks that see this, and DON’T take it for drama. We lose a couple of people per year in DV because of lack of preparation. It just makes me nervous that artistic license (we only had 1/4 tank of gas) will be taken as fact,” said the person.

“The idea of venturing to Saline without a shovel, with a 1/4 tank of gas, and without clear knowledge of the roads is something I wouldn’t want to encourage,” he continued.

The Desert Dogs respond saying the intent was to create suspense for Part 2, and to express elation at having survived.

Check out the video and you tell us.  Do you think portraying victory over dire situations is irresponsible?  Do you think exaggerations (i.e. 100 miles from nearest town with 1/4 tank of gas) is irresponsible?

The REAL Desert Dogs' logo, created by Charlene Ventanilla

Brown Widows in Barstow, CA? – Southern California is home to a species of spider that is notorious for its bite, which can render any healthy human being into a feverish state, and potentially cause death to young children and the elderly – the Western Black Widow Latrodectus hesperus.  This spider species was once too common in southern California, especially around urban environments, but another widow spider made it’s appearance in Southern California recently, and it looks like it is here to stay.  I’m talking about the Brown Widow Latrodectus geometricus.

Since its 2003 discovery in Torrance, CA, homeowners have been reporting more frequent sightings of brown widows and less frequent sightings of black widows.  Because of this hearsay evidence, I decided to build my graduate study around this apparent truth by counting abundances of each species among different locations in southern California.  I found that brown widows seem to be limited exclusively to urban locations, and do not survive in the natural desert climates that typically describe southern California’s landscapes.  Moreover, I have not seen a single brown widow even in desert cities, which exhibit high degrees of urbanization.  But this isn’t true according to some.

While counting widows in Barstow, CA during January of 2011, I ran into a family that were interested in my study.  They mentioned that brown widow spiders were, indeed, in Barstow.  The immediate thought of concern influenced the remainder of the conversation.  Before that point, I had thought that brown widows were restricted to the coast where humidity is higher (this may be a factor that allows for their urban survival).  Barstow is now the furthest city from the coast with brown widows and the closest they’ve been to natural desert regions.  So is there a threat?

Maybe.  I conducted preliminary lab trials to test for competition between the two widow species.  So far, brown widows have been observed displacing black widows from their webs and dwelling spaces.  However, we can’t say the same interactions are occurring in the rest of southern California.  We also don’t know if it deserves the attention of being a serious problem, especially to people.  Both species have their own venom toxicities, but it is unclear as to which poses more of a threat to humans.  We do know that brown widow populations are spreading, and that homeowners are witnessing local black widow extinctions.  I guess real concern will arise when brown widows are reported surviving in natural desert ecosystems.  If it ever hits that point (or is heading in that direction), then the western black widow’s existence might be in its final years.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Please let me know if you’ve sighted brown widows within a 2-mile radius of any of these California cities:

Barstow, Victorville, 29 Palms, Indio, Coachella, Palm Springs, Needles, Bishop, Lancaster, Palmdale, Silverwood, El Centro, Brawley, Murrietta.