Pat and Judy's Travels: Desert Trip (Day 13)

We started off the day today with a dip in one of the hot tubs by the pool. The water is from the resort's mineral spring wells. The water was a comfortable 104 degrees and we enjoyed soaking while enjoying the desert morning sunshine. We then headed for town to visit a few places we either missed or wanted to visit again.

Our first stop was getting a picture of another metal sculpture - this one is of Captain Juan Bautista DeAnaza, the Spanish explorer who passed through the area on his journey of exploration from Mexico to San Francisco in 1775.

We then visited an outdoor garden of cactus plants and Mexican pottery and metal artworks. there were several pigs there, but Judy already had one of them (purchased in New Orleans during Mardi Gras last year).

We then went to the local mall for a few things that we missed the other day. Pat bought a desert hat for our upcoming safari tour this afternoon and Judy bought a grapefruit knife to cut up all the grapefruit we bought yesterday.

We had lunch at Carmelita's, a local Mexican restaurant; again, very good food. I think its probably impossible to get bad Mexican food down here.

At 12 noon we went to California Overland, a local business that operates back country tours around and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Rich, our tour guide, had commuted 2 hours from center city San Diego to drive us around. He knows a great deal about the park - its geology, history, present-day Park issues and the local area in general.

We rode around the desert in the jeep pictured - it was a brisk and bouncy ride, to say the least. (After we got back to the RV, Pat told me that the gas guage in the jeep had read "empty" for the whole trip. I'm glad I didn't know that at the time.)

We drove out of town on SR22 towards the Salton Sea, but turned left at Rockhouse Road toward Clark Dry Lake. This has never actually been a lake, but is a sink where the rainwater drains off of the surrounding mountains. Rich discussed the scientific and military history of this desolate-looking but beautiful area. It is a perfect spot for stargazing on overnight campouts. (California Overland does those also, as well as overnight programs for school children.)

We drove out of the lake bed back on the main road, then turned right toward Font's Point, a spectacular scenic viewpoint. It was named for the Franciscan Father who accompanied De Anza on his journey through the area in 1775. We bumped over sandy roads which were actually "washes" or drainage ditches in the desert.

A Smoke Tree - hardy desert native.

Ocotillo plants, full of spines, but not actually cactuses.

The view from Font's Point, 1,000' straight down with no guard rails. This area is known locally as the Borrego Badlands. Much of the soil in this area was washed here by the Colorado River from the Grand Canyon a long time ago.