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]

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]

In one of Baja's most picturesque desert landscapes filled with Boojum Trees, massive Cardons and truck sized boulders; there is an ancient cave filled with colorful geometric shapes and humanesque forms. Credit for these colorful pictographs is given to the Cochimi Indians who inhabitated a significant portion of Central Baja thousands of years ago. We set out in the noontime desert heat and made our way up the sandy swithchback up towards the cave. The triple digit temperatures quickly dropped as we entered the large cavern. There we were greeted by bright yellow, orange, red and black etchings that were remarkably similiar to the drawin... [More]

The Island is one of those areas that we have driven by for twenty years and never stopped. To be honest we are not sure it is even called the Island. It is a freeway island, sandwiched in between the high speed lanes of Interstate 8. The Jacumba Mountains flank its' northern edge while the In-Ko-Pah Gorge lies to south.  Driving east I was surprised to find some late season snow near Pine Valley. Bighorn Sheep, freeway debris, Sunrise Powerlink towers, Native American artifacts, target practice folks and beautiful desert all stuck between the high speed lanes of the Interstate 8 Freeway The Island is h... [More]

We finally had a free weekend, so we decided to drive out to Anza Borrego to see how the wildflowers were progressing. Our plan was to camp in Carrizo Gorge but as we approached the turnoff we noticed at least 20 cars parked at the entrance. Not sure what was going on but we quickly drove by to find some where a bit more secluded. We ended up camping in Indian Valley which was a great choice. We found a great spot set among the blooming Ocotillo plants and set up our camp.  Now onto our  Anza Borrego Wildflower report : The Ocotillo are putting on an amazing display in southern Anza Borrego. The stalks are covered with emeral gre... [More]

I left the coast on an overcast morning with a cold north wind blowing.  Daren had invited me to check out some pictographs he had found around the Jacumba area so I was excited to make the trip.  Once I hit Lakeside the clouds disappeared and the clear blue skies beckoned me eastward. We had planned to meet at the Subway / gas station in Jacumba , so I arrived a bit early to pick up a sandwich. The place was busy with people heading east towing all types of sand toys. Funny how the desert means different things to different people. To some there is nothing better than blasting up the dunes at Glamis, while to others a quiet hike ... [More]

MuMu the FJ40 Land Cruiser conquers the Squeeze in Anza Borrego Pulled this one out of the archives.  Fast forward 17 years later, we still own "MuMu" the Land Cruiser but unfortunately she has been retired to the garage with the occasional trip to the grocery store. :)