One of my favorite Ricardo Breceda sculptures is “scorpion versus grasshopper”. Who do you think would win? These are but two of the 140 sculptures on display at Galleta Meadows in Borrego Springs.
Links: Ricardo Breceda Serpent post
One of my favorite spots in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is “The Slot”, a small slot canyon that is about 2 miles north of the 78. The turnoff is just a little ways east of its intersection with Borrego Springs Road and should be marked as Buttes Pass Road. Keep left at the intersection that you come to after about a mile. If the road looks too challenging, hike in from the 78.
Links: ABDSP Wheelingit
The Kelso Dunes are situated in the southwestern corner of the Mojave National Preserve, covering an area of 45 sq. miles, with the tallest part of the dunes reaching 650 feet in height. They are accessed down a 3 mile graded dirt road that takes off of Kelbaker Road, not far from the Kelso Depot/Park Visitor’s Center. Hiking is allowed.
Links: NPS previous related post
Zabriskie Point is one of Death Valley’s most popular viewpoints, especially at sunrise and sunset. Located east of Furnace Creek on Hwy 190, it was named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, VP and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 1900’s when the company’s twenty-mule teams were used to haul borax from its mines in Death Valley. This location was used to represent the surface of Mars in the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars and was also featured in the 1970 film Zabriskie Point.
Links: NPS previous related post
Red Rock Canyon State Park is located where the southernmost end of the Sierra Nevada meet the El Paso Mountains, about an hour north of Lancaster. The campsites in Ricardo Campground back up against dramatic desert cliffs. Off highway exploring opportunities abound in the nearby Dove Springs and Jawbone Canyon OHV areas.
Badwater Basin is a closed drainage basin in Death Valley National Park that is the lowest point in North America, with an elevation of 282 feet below sea level. The basin is about 7.5 miles long and 5 miles wide. Telescope Peak, the highest point within Death Valley NP at 11,049 feet, is seen in the distance.
Links: Previous related post
Inspiration Point in Joshua Tree National Park is reached via a 0.3 mile loop trail and features great desert and mountain views and beautiful wild flowers when in season.
St. Richard Catholic Church is the Roman Catholic Parish for Borrego Springs. I love the stark whiteness of the church set against the desert landscape.
California is a fantastic place for birding as the state boasts 662 species in the latest CA Bird List, while San Diego County alone has 517 species on its checklist. The little guy in this pic is a burrowing owl which we encountered on a dirt road just south of the Salton Sea. Burrowing owls generally live underground in the abandoned burrows of mammals.
A fun place to visit in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is Seventeen Palms Oasis, which boasts a series of beautiful palm trees (Washingtonia filifera) set against the stark desert. It’s a nice shaded place for a picnic lunch while you check out the “prospector’s post office” which contains a visitor’s log book, notes, etc.
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