Hunting the desert whale: personal adventures in Baja California

Gardner, the prolific lawyer-turned-writer of Perry Mason fame, lived in southern California and in 1947 was able to do what few Americans before him had done: he drove down the entire Baja peninsula and recorded his experiences in his book, The Land of Shorter Shadows. From that time on, Gardner, along with various friends and fellow-adventurers explored Baja, using all kinds of vehicles-including airplane, helicopter, boat and even a type of hybrid motorcycle. Gardner's books on Baja, written in typical "tough-guy," fast-paced style, show how most "gringos" exploring the peninsula during this time viewed Baja, as a place of escape and high adventure, with perhaps less regard for the fragility of the landscape and associated biota or for the intrinsic value of its natural history. Hunting the Desert Whale describes his adventures in Scammon's Lagoon where he ventured with 7 or 8 others, including a reporter from Newsweek magazine, to photograph whales. Illustrated with black and white photos of the trip.