Sunday - last day in Borrego Springs

Old Sasha girl enjoys the heat of the campfire

We all enjoyed a beautiful campfire last night.  The stars were so brilliant, the sky so black, the fire so warm. It was really hard to go back inside.



Today was our last day here in Borrego Springs.  This area is definitely going on our list of places to revisit.  There are so many things we haven't done or seen yet and our time is up tomorrow at noon.

 We had a near catastrophe at our birdie spa this morning.  Only Dave's quick reflexes saved a greedy white winged dove.

We were having our morning coffees next to the birdie spa and enjoying the antics of this particular dove.  It landed on top of the feeder, knocked off the lid, and then hung upside down inside in order to reach the seeds at the bottom.  Quite clever.  The other birds didn't seem to mind at all and continued to pick the seeds in the normal fashion.  Suddenly the big greedy bird slipped off the edge and fell right in.
It filled the entire feeder and was stuck fast, upside down!  Struggle, struggle, to no avail.   Dave quickly unhooked the feeder and turned it upside down.  Slowly, with Dave's help, the stupid bird worked itself right side up and squeezed back out the hole.  It flew away on both wings, phew...  All the excitement called for another cup of coffee!

Lewis thinks that the birds (and ground squirrel) can't see him if he stands real, real still in the shadows

After lunch we drove over to the Visitor's Center (yes, we should have done it the first day, not the last, but...) and checked out a few places for next time.   Its an interesting building, made of stone and earth, built right into a little rise.  When we parked in the lot, we thought we'd come to the wrong place, we couldn't find the building.

parking spaces in foreground, roof of the Visitor's Center in the background

another angle of the roof - the only giveaway is the small exhaust fan in the center of the picture.

the Visitor's Center from its entrance.  nothing to take away from your desert experience here...



The setting is perfect, nestled in the desert as if it is growing there.  A nice nature trail surrounds the center and I'm always fascinated with the variety of ways mother nature chooses to package her sharp edges...

this guy is called "Teddy Bear Cholla" but don't let the name fool you...

We had a bit of time before our dinner "reservation" so we decided to take the sandy road up to an overlook called Font's Point.  It was a four mile off road trip to a fantastic view of the Badlands.

parts of this sandy road tested Dave's abilities, and our jeep's capabilities

hints of the badlands to come

standing right on the edge....looking down a few thousand feet with no railing...gasp.

our dinner destination - "The Beast"  rib joint.

Dave chats with the cook.  wonderful restaurant and they even welcome dogs!

discussing the merits of dry rubs vs bbq sauce, Memphis vs Texas
  

Those ribs were knock your socks off good.   Lick your fingers good.  Slap your chest and fall back into your chair good (to quote Jesse).   Thanks so much Nina and Paul, and thanks Polly, for sharing with the other black dogs.   See you all soon.

not a bad sunset from this joint...and not a bad way to spend our last day.