Join guest photographer Andy as he explores the Anza Borrego Desert at night. These awesome photos were taken on a recent overnight backpacking trip into Bighorn Canyon by members of the forum.

There has been an unprecedented assault on our deserts and backcountry in the name of renewable energy. While the Anza Borrego Desert State Park was spared the bulldozer's blade back in 2008, many so called "green" projects have been popping up all over California. Although these remote solar and wind projects may seem environmentally friendly on the surface, there is a dark side that seems to be ignored by the media. In order to be financially viable, large scale solar and wind projects require thousands of acres of public lands to be scraped clean in order to make room for the dishes or towers. These are areas that have important bio... [More]

I spent Thursday morning out in McCain Valley protesting SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink ground-breaking ceremony along with the Protect Our Communities Foundation and other concerned San Diegans. This high profile invite-only event had our governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in attendance as well as other Sunrise Powerlink supporters and local politicians. Many people, myself included, would call this event premature since the Sunrise Powerlink is being challenged in the courts, but SDG&E moved forward anyway. SDG&E also unveiled its' new high tech helicopter that apparently will be helping with construction of the Sunrise Power... [More]

I had barely rinsed off the dirt and dust from our Thanksgiving trip to Carrizo Gorge, when we found ourselves heading back out to Anza Borrego to meet up with a couple friends for a day hike. Our destination this time, was at the opposite end of the Anza Borrego Desert, a remote area called Rockhouse Valley. While the adjacent canyon, informally titled Rockhouse Canyon, shares its' namesake with our favorite hiking area to the south, the two areas are worlds apart. Rockhouse Canyon "north" is a curving, narrow canyon with vertical walls on both sides which eventually opens up to the broad expanse of Rockhouse Valley. A majority of... [More]

Our annual Anza Borrego Thanksgiving camping trip is something we always look forward to. While it sounds like a big hassle to lug all the food, tables, barbecues and drinks out to the desert, the rewards of sunshine and desert solitude are worth it. Nightime temperatures were in the the low 30's, but the Maggiolina Rooftop Tent kept us pretty warm. We camped in  Carrizo Gorge, which is our favorite area of Anza Borrego, and did day hikes up the East Fork as well as Four Frogs Canyon.The Ocotillo are simply amazing this time of year. During the dry summer months the Ocotillo resemble dried up sticks poking out of the desert soil. On... [More]

On a recent overnight camping trip to Mount Laguna I snapped this picture of the Anza Borrego Desert far below.If you look closely you can see the Salton Sea in the upper left of the picture.

     High up on a ridge overlooking the vast expanse of Anza Borrego 's Indian Valley is a room size rock shelter once used by Native Americans to honor and perhaps foretell the coming of the summer solstice.  To the Native Americans, the sun was all powerful and dictated when crops would ripen and perhaps when the time had come to move to higher more hospitable elevations. To monitor the arrival of "the longest day of the year" native american priests or shamans would paint pictographs which would illuminate at the right time of the year on the rising sun. It is also believed that rocks were arranged in a ... [More]

       The first meeting of the year for the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Botany Society will be held Monday, November 8, at 10 a.m. in the Daniel Discovery Lab at the Park Visitor Center.  A freelecture on the evolution of plant photosynthesis by Dr. Joanne Ingwall will precede the business meeting, and all are invited to attend. New certification classes for the Botany Society will begin January 3, 2011. Anyone interested inattending the classes should contact Larry Hendrickson at lhendrickson@parks.ca.gov. Also, mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual Botany Festival and Plant Sale on Saturday, November 27, ... [More]

Jon Grasson has done an excellent job of putting together an awesome resource for Desert lovers everywhere. Dezert Magazine, an online periodical, is reminiscent of the printed Desert Magazine that ceased publication in 1985 after 40 + years of circulation . I was honored when John asked to include one of our blog entries in the first issue. Check it out if you have a chance.   Best, Bob

Many people never see a Bighorn out in the Anza Borrego Desert. The once thriving Bighorn population has now dwindled to somewhere around 280 by official Park estimates. The Bighorns blend in very well with their environment and will stand still for hours making them impossible to see. On two previous occasions we have been lucky enough to encounter the elusive Bighorn. The first time was two hours into a hike to the Goat Canyon Trestle, while our second encounter was with a bachelor herd of Bighorn rams near Indian Hill in the southern end of Anza Borrego. Our latest encounter did not require a 3 hour hike and in fact occurred when Lin... [More]