Sunday had even more adventures than Saturday. Don and I were up before the sun - first drinking our coffee in sweatpants and sweatshirts, then gradually losing layers as the sun warmed us up. It was so peaceful. Have I said before how much I love the desert? I do. Utah, California, Arizona, Nevada - you name it. I love the desert. Of course, there's no fishing there, but it sure was nice to hear Don say, "I think I would love to come back here a lot." Next winter, for example - if we see the weatherman predict a snowstorm coming in, we can just leave! I'd much rather experience some rain in the desert instead of a snowstorm up here in the mountains.
After breakfast we packed a lunch and left on our days' travels. First up was a short drive up the mountain to Culp Valley, and a hike to Pena Spring. We ended up going way past the spring, down to the end of the valley where there was a wonderful view overlooking Borrego Springs. Then we hiked back up to the spring, which was actually running. The miniature stream was about 6 inches across, and ran for 25-30 yards before it seeped into the ground.
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| Max at the beginning of the trail. |
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| Don, Patty, Max, and Patrick coming down the trail. |
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| At the pour-off/viewpoint. |
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| Patty, Don, and Patrick looking out over Borrego Valley. |
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| Me |
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| The lower part of the "stream" coming out of Pena Spring |
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| It doesn't show up that well, but that's running water. |
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| I have no idea what kind of berries these are. They look pretty good! |
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| The spring is in the center of the photo, behind the large green bushes and in a stand of small trees. |
After we finished the hike, we headed up the hill in order to make a loop outside the park and back in. On the way we made a potty break at the little store in Ranchita. Sitting outside the store is its famous statue of Bigfoot - the
"Rancheti."
From Ranchita we took the S22 over to the S2 and drove back into the park. We then took a left on the 78 and went about 6 miles to the Mine Wash Road. There we went south about a mile and a half and parked next to a large pile of rocks (reminiscent of the rocks at Joshua Tree). In the late 1800s there was a Kumeyaay village, so we walked around to see what remnants we could see.
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| Large mortero rock with a metate still on it. |
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| An even larger mortero |
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| The bloom at the end of an Ocotillo branch |
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| Patrick and Max climbing on the rocks |
Once we finished walking around the rocks, we headed back to our campsite. There I took a short nap, then enjoyed sitting out in the shade for a while. It was Patrick's night to cook, and he'd had some beef curry cooking in the crockpot all day. It was pretty interesting - beef, potatoes, onion, in a curry sauce with some coconut milk thrown in. They served it over rice and with some toppings (mushrooms, hard-boiled egg, and green onions). I was leery, but ended up cleaning my good-sized bowl.
I think I've fallen in love with Anza-Borrego. All these years I've lived in California, all these years I've heard Patrick talk about it, and this was the first time. For some reason I thought it was all a giant OHV area. Since I really don't care for the OHV crowd, I'd never gone. But the park and the Ocotillo Wells OHV park are two separate areas - and you can't OHV in Anza-Borrego. So, we'll be back!
