Borrego and Beyond

 14 Feb 2023

February 2023

We left you, dear readers, on the curb as we departed for an overnight in Borrego Springs. We were remiss in not visiting this place while we lived in San Diego so we thought we go there while we were back in the area and had a car. 

It is a pleasant two hour drive, mostly back roads that are quite lovely now that we have had all the rain.  We passed several Indian Casinos, a few open air fruit markets and then headed uphill for about four thousand feet where there was nothing but open fields and cattle grazing. At about 4,500 ft we started our descent into the Anza-Borrego State Park, the largest in California and about the size of Rhode Island, 650,000 square miles! As we drove down the narrow, twisting road Cindy provided color commentary since the only color I could see was the whites of my knuckles as I kept both eyes on the road. It is truly an inspiring view with lots of color from lots of layers of different soils, all eroded over time by what must have been a lovely wide river. Our first stop was the Interpretive Center run by the park service. A lovely spot with friendly guides and lots of trails, paths and information, not to mention the best and cheapest bottled spring water we had on the trip.  After an hour of walking, reading signs about the plants that we were looking at, and admiring the open vistas, we hopped in the car to scout out the rest of the area.  The park is famous for the annual "desert bloom" which usually occurs in mid-February or March.  We were a few weeks early but this year the verbena was already blooming and it was really pretty the way it covered the ground around the sculptures.  

We had been told that we had to see the hundred or so sculptures that dotted the desert within the town of Borrego Springs. As we were looking for them a dust storm kicked in - reminding us of Bahrain, which always makes us glad to be elsewhere.  We finally came upon the ‘animals’ that were sculpted out of metal and I must say they have to be seen to be believed.  These will wow you and it was so worth the effort. We spent an hour or so driving slowly in the car looking at these things and each time we would say that one is the best, but really, the best is the dragon going under the road!!  Quite wild!

We headed to our hotel for the night hoping to get a late lunch and a well deserved nap. After a quick check-in, we dropped our bags and headed for the resort restaurant where we were the only two folks there. No one seemed rushed since they are open from 7am to 10pm without a break so we ordered salads and wine. As we sat there looking out at the golf course, a large dog came trotting onto the course. We soon realized that it was a coyote, which brightened our day (being so close to nature). No sooner had he pranced out of sight but two more appeared and leisurely ambled in front of us wondering why we were having lunch so late. Ah, this is my idea of observing wildlife, cold wine in one hand, Cindy’s hand in my other and plate glass separating us from the wildebeests.

We took a long walk after our nap and by then the winds had died down so we had an undisturbed view forever without dust.  Really quite the spot, horseshoed in by three mountain ranges with a large dead lake at the open end.  After an hour of walking it started to get dark - and it gets dark quickly - so we wended our way across the golf course to the bar and had cocktails before being escorted to our very same table as that afternoon. Again, we were the only ones dining so we took it nice and easy and had a great time, even without wildlife sightings. 

By the time we were done it was dark, very, very, very dark. Borrego Springs is recognized by whatever organization does such things as an International Dark Sky Park. We walked out to the darkest spot on the grounds and there were stars everywhere from the edge of the desert to the edge of space.  I have been in the middle of oceans and saw lots of stars but nothing like this. Thank god there were no mosquitos or they would have filled my mouth! Cindy pointed out constellations that city boys never saw before and as I followed her commentary, there were shooting stars distracting my attention.  It was all quite marvelous and such a unique experience for us. 

The next day after a nice long walk we headed up the hill and back toward Oceanside but this time via Julian. Julian is a little ‘western’ village at about 4,000 feet noted for its apples and of course, apple pies. The town is nothing more than a mile of old time shops on either side of the road, each one promising you the very best, most authentic apple pie along with all manner of bric-a-brac and clothing and home decor depicting apples. We of course stopped to compare the pie offerings and settled on "Mom's Pies" where Cindy had a slice of blueberry and I chose mixed berry, both delicious!  We then purchased a sphere of goodness that was a traditional crust surrounding cooked apples - who knew a pie could look like a large softball?  Heading home with the aroma of a fresh apple pie in the car, we marveled at how diverse the geography is in this part of SoCal.  Within two hours we went from ocean to mountains, to skiing areas, to desert. Of course, once back in civilization we had to contend with lots of traffic, but the short trip had been well worth the effort and we were ever so pleased to have had the experience. 

We packed up and departed California four days later and had a blessed seven days at home getting ready for the next adventure in Portugal and France.  More on that later..  Best to all, Cindy and William