Sunday was a sun day and a fun day. MonaLiza and Steve (lowestravels.com) are also staying in the Borrego Springs area and were hiking close to us on Sunday. They came over for happy hour (which they thoughtfully provided.....) and then we went to the Red Ocotillo for a late lunch/early dinner. It was great catching up with these two, we figured that we hadn't seen each other since our stay in Moab early this past spring.
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| Hmmm, I wonder what's going on here...she didn't like the wine, she wanted more wine, he drank her wine, there is a bug in her wine..... |
Monday, Dave and I packed a lunch and headed out to follow a few dirt/sand roads. I have a real problem. I want to turn off the highway and see where every dirt track or road leads.
Our first stop was at the State Park's Visitor Center where we encountered a vary blase and altogether unhelpful ranger and bought a couple books.
Before leaving we walked the Visitor Center's natural trail and enjoyed the variety of plant life found in this area .
We hadn't followed Rockhouse Canyon Road much further than the area where many people boondock, so that was our goal.
It was a relatively flat and sandy road heading toward Clark Dry Lake. We encountered no one after passing 10 or 15 rv's camping near the main road, S-22.
Clark Dry Lake was dry in some places and very spongy and damp in others probably due to the recent heavy rains. Deep ruts suggested the possibility of getting stuck, so we took out our lunch and sat on the jeep's hood to enjoy the sun and silence of the lake bed.
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| all to ourselves |
We decided that we didn't need to continue on this route so turned around and left the way we came.
It was still relatively early in the day so we turned off S-22 and drove up a wide, sandy wash for about 4 miles into the Borrego Badlands.
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| I wonder if wind or water undercut this poor Ocotillo |
The road makes a slow and gradual ascent ending at Fonts Point. We've been there before by ourselves and with Pam and John, but the dramatic views never get old.
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| green Ocotillo in the wash far below |
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| Coyote Mountain and Clark Dry Lake in the distance |
Today "we" played golf before lunch and then continued the exploration of roads leading off into the desert.
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| He's sure he's going along |
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| he's very excited..... |
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| he had to stay home |
Dave enjoys playing on this course. It's short but challenging enough and very close to home.
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| Beluga waits off the 9th |
He played well for not having picked up a club since the end of May. He was very consistent.
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| he's nothing if not consistent |
I enjoy driving on the course, its pretty, not much pressure from other players pushing, and there are lots of birds around. Doesn't take much to make me happy....
The road going past our RV Resort just sort of stops a few miles past our entrance. Actually the road doesn't really stop so much as it stops being paved. It becomes a dirt track leading......somewhere so after golf and lunch we dropped off the asphalt and onto the sandy path to see what we would see.
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| a forest of Ocotillo |
The desert is beginning to show the effects of the recent rains. The relatively bare ground is sporting a tiny green fuzz and the Ocotillo are responding by greening up quickly. Tiny leaves seem to glow in the sunshine.
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| water in the desert is always a novelty |
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| the stream wasn't deep but it was fast running |
It was fairly late in the afternoon so we didn't get to investigate as far as we wanted to, we'll file this one away for another trip.
The desert is so spacious and peaceful -- we always enjoy our visits to Anza Borrego. Looks like you have a perfect spot there for relaxing, golfing, and birding. Love the roadrunner!
ReplyDeletep.s. So great that you met up with MonaLiza and Steve. They are so much fun!
ReplyDeleteThat's to bad about the unhelpful ranger at the visitor centre, we have always had awesome help there. The Ocotillo look beautiful when the leaves come out, they were leafless when we were in Borrego at the beginning of December. We love to take a bottle of wine up to Font's Wash and watch the sun set 😊 Poor Lewis having to sit out the golf game, he looked so excited, but then he always looks so cute and happy!
ReplyDeleteThere are soooo many off road areas from Borrego, but you really need the recreational map or you can get really lost out in some of the areas. Wasn't it the four of us that wondered for what seemed liked forever down in the canyons? It can get very confusing. I don't think I have ever seen the Ocotillo so green in BS. They are so beautiful with their bright emerald leaves. Love seeing them down in the Badlands. I never tire of the view from Fonts Point either:) Lew could have gone along in the golf cart. He would have had a great time. The poor boy needs to do something about that excitement "thing!" At least color it to blend in:) How are the oranges and grapefruit? Are there any left on the trees?
ReplyDeleteLooks like "This tastes horrible - here, taste some :-)))) So sad Lewis had to stay home. You did see some lovely birds, the Roadrunner is always a favorite! That walking Ocotillo is wonderful! Hope he can hang on a little longer :-)
ReplyDeleteIt could be anything about the wine. We are enjoying the "lush desert" ourselves.
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