This is one view of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. It is a large state park in Southern California spanning over 600,000 acres and taking up much of one fifth of San Diego County. It is a dry place of much beauty and vast open vistas. There are two communities within the park, Borrego Springs (by far the largest) and Shelter Valley (a small really rural location). There are lots of hiking trails and things to see and do in the park. We stayed in the Campground in an Area called Palm Canyon.
The first day we got there this was the view from our campsite. It is a really beautiful location. There are lots of big horn sheep up in the mountains you see here. The campsites are adequately spaced out so that you don't feel too crowded onto the neighbor. Around Parker, Arizona many of the commercial parks, not the state park, are what we call Sardine Parks where they stuff as many RVs into a given area as they can. This was certainly not a Sardine Park.
This is basically the same view as we showed above. The only difference is that it was a day later and one of the many winter storm that are moving through southern California had moved in. On Friday it rained quite a bit. One of the Rangers we spoke with said they got an inch of rain on Friday with more anticipated over the next few days. He then mentioned that historically they only get 3 inches of rain a year, it is a dry spot. At one point he also stated that the highest recorded temperature there was last year at 124 degrees, that is hot.
As you drive around Borrego Springs you will see a lot of large metal sculptures. A fellow named Ricardo Breceda developed them and many of them are incredible due to their size and detail work.. There is a great deal of information regarding the myriad of sculptures on the internet. One link is here - http://www.desertusa.com/borrego/bs-art.html. This is the popular sea serpent. Part of it is one one side of the road and part on the other.
This is the stunning head of the serpent. It is really large and quite dramatic. Here is another link to the artwork with a slideshow presenting many images. - http://www.abdnha.org/borrego-springs-sculptures-of-ricardo-breceda.htm
The green plant that you see in the foreground is an Ocotillo (pronounced - Oh-co-tea-yo). It is normally a dry looking spindly plant that on a cursory view appears dead. When the rains come it produces these lush green leaves. Quite amazing to see the plant transform in such a dramatic fashion. It has no leaves when there is no moisture to conserve nutrient and minimize evaporation.
When the leaves are produced the Ocotillo also makes a number of blossoms which the hummingbirds love. In front of the visitor center is an extensive nature trail and signs identifying many of the cactus and plants that can be found in the area. The park seems to be very intune with passing along useful information and educating the public.
This is the visitor center with a great deal of information and presentations on a variety of subjects within the park. It is built underground and fascinatingly done. The structure conserves energy in the hot dry summers.
This was one of the door handles on the doors going into the visitor center. Though quite fascinating and well done, I think they would be a bit ostentatious on our front door either at home or on the trailer. They really fit in here however.
This was a view across the desert. You can see the snow on the higher mountains in the distance. This picture was taken Saturday morning as Friday's storm subsided and passed on through to the east. We thought this was going to be a warm desert excursion.
We went into Borrego Springs for lunch one day and stuck our nose into some stores for some curiosity shopping. We found this Oregon Pinot Wine in a can and became curious as to storage and consumption. Do you keep it in the ice chest with the Budweiser? Do you sniff the pull tab when you open the can and check for oxidation? The advantage is that this wine should last forever as no air can get in. Put this on the shelf beside your twinkies and you will have food and beverage to last a millennium. No, we did not try the wine.
Hope you enjoyed this post. If you get a chance to visit Anza Borrego it is well worth your time. Don't go in mid summer unless you love the heat. Early March should be wonderful this year as with all the rain the wildflower bloom will be spectacular.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments.
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