Visiting the Anza Borrego Desert State Park Visitor's Center [More]

We spent the morning exploring the amazing artwork of Richard Breceda around Borrego Springs. Back in 2008 Breceda was commissioned by Dennis Avery of Avery Denninson label fame, to create the life size metal sculptures and place them around his vast desert property called Galleta Meadows. The life size sculptures bring to life, creatures that roamed the area from prehistoric to modern times. In our short tour we found mastadons, large dinosaurs, sabre tooth tigers as well as a 350 ft serpent that seemed to pass directly under the road (not sure how that one fits in but)    The late Mr. Avery... [More]

Our friends Jon and Elena who reside in Borrego Springs forwarded me this great shot showing the results of our recent snow storm in east San Diego. This one was taken heading down the Montezuma grade.

Since we are rapidly approaching desert wildflower season in Anza Borrego .... I thought I would post a little preview of what we can expect to see.Stay tuned for future wildflower and cactus bloom updates In Chrome and FireFox you can click on large photo to advance. In Internet Explorer you have to navigate with bottom thumbnails. (sorry) 

We were invited by our friends J & E to meet up for a day hike out in Anza Borrego. Our destination was a windswept area known as "The Slot", a narrow passageway through the eroded badlands below Borrego Mountain. After a short drive from J & E's Borrego Spring's home we exited the pavement onto the soft sand dirt road, and bounced our way towards the trail head. We parked the vehicles and followed the trail of footprints leading down into the maze below. Immediately the sandstone walls rose around us and we found ourselves squeezing through the ever narrowing labyrinth. At certain points we even had to turn sideways to fit thru bef... [More]

Despite the allure of its' name the Well of Eight Echoes located off the S2 is one of those attractions that leaves you scratching your head.  The well is a 1 foot plus wide steel pipe that apparently extends close to a hundred feet into the ground. In its heyday before visitors filled it with pebbles and who knows what, you could yell down the opening and listen for a gradual decrescendo of echoes.  There are a couple conflicting stories on the origin of the well; one is that the pipe is what's left of a fountain head from a failed cotton growing venture in the 1920's, while others claim it was an attempt at drilling for oil... [More]

Adjacent to the S2 highway in the Anza Borrego Desert , is a small turnout marked by a historical landmark sign . It is easy to drive right by without giving it a second notice which is unfortunate. The sign, numbered 472, marks a significant spot, where in 1847 a battalion of Mormon volunteers led by Philip St. George Cooke blazed a new wagon route west. The narrow route was widened using only handtools to allow the passage of wagons and equipment on their way into California. To circumvent the steep dry waterfall , the still visible trail was carved up along the canyon wall and continued west through the Anza ... [More]

We took a quick overnight trip out to Anza Borrego to hike the tracks a bit and explore the Indian Hill area. I had not been out to the southern Anza Borrego desert since they started construction of the Ocotillo Express wind farm and was saddened to see the damage. Where once stood large forests of Ocotillo, now resembled something out of an apocalyptic nightmare. The monstrous wind towers dwarfed anything around them and along with the huge SDG&E switchyard and imposing Sunrise Powerlink transmission towers have forever industrialized the tranquil desert around Ocotillo. Ironic isn’t it, that something marketed as "Green" has d... [More]

Remember a few years back, when everyon'e favorite utility company SDG&E was trying to route the infamous Sunrise Powerlink through Anza Borrego ? Well it was good news for Park lovers when an alternate route was chosen, but unfortunately the approved southern route forever marred many pristine areas of the San Diego backcountry. In addition many so called Green projects, fueled by government subsidies and corporate greed are currently destroying miles upon miles of desert ecosystems. The battle is far from over; grass roots efforts are springing up everywhere to stop the destruction of our natural desert resources. In the me... [More]

STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF OCOTILLO! TAKE A STAND IN THE SAND Saturday, August 11 at 7 a.m. Meet at the Ocotillo Community Center Park Join us Saturday to make a Stand in the Sand Directions: From I-8- Exit S-2/ Imperial Highway (Ocotillo/Desert Parks exit). Go north on S2. The park is about 1 mile north of Ocotillo on your right. Up to 40 million acres of public lands are targeted for industrialization with renewable energy development. Ocotillo Wind is the beginning – and must be the end. San Diego mountains   STAND IN THE SAND-REVISED FLYER