The third creek crossing on the Lower Coyote Canyon Trail in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) can be a bit disconcerting. One enters the water but cannot see the end of the crossing because the trail bends and is covered by trees and vines. The day we crossed the creek a few years ago there were about two feet of water to ford.
Links: The Adventure Portal
About 18 miles from the start of Titus Canyon Road in Death Valley National Park you will find the Klare Spring petroglyph area. Although there has been some vandalism, several original images still persist.
Links: NPS previous related post
A couple of weeks ago we hiked Annie’s Canyon Trail and passed by this beautiful osprey hanging out in a dead tree (which my SE Lagoon Conservancy volunteer friend told me was called a “snag”). Interestingly, other names for osprey include fish eagle, sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk.
Hole in the Wall is a small gap in a natural wall of rock some four hundred feet high. It is located 3.7 miles up a sandy wash/road that takes off of Highway 190 close to Zabriskie Point and Twenty Mule Team Canyon.
We hiked to Lake Poway from the Blue Sky Ecological Preserve. The lake serves as the western starting point for the hike up Mt. Woodson to Potato Chip Rock. Boating, fishing, camping, picnicking and hiking opportunities abound.
Links: poway.org
The Converse Basin Grove in Sequoia National Forest was extensively logged in the late 1800’s and many of the stumps are still intact. The oldest sequoia stump in this area is just over 3,200 years old!
Links: Sequoia National Forest
Twenty Mule Team Canyon is an unpaved 2.7 mile, one-way loop drive in Death Valley National Park located off Highway 190 just east of Furnace Creek. This badlands area is quite spectacular in color and texture.
Links: NPS previous related post
This pic looks back down the roadway leading up to the top of Palomar Mountain. Camping is available at Doane Valley and Cedar Grove campgrounds in Palomar Mountain State Park and at the Palomar Observatory campground. Some of the great hiking trails on the mountain boast views of the Pacific Ocean.
The Salton Sea was formed between 1905 and 1907 when the Colorado River broke through irrigation system diversion canals in Imperial County. It currently hosts over 400 bird species each year and serves as a critical stopover on the Pacific Flyway. The lake surface is 234 feet below sea level and its deepest point is only 5 feet higher than the lowest point in Death Valley. It sits directly on the San Andreas Fault.
The Inn at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park was built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company of Twenty Mule Team fame and opened in 1927. It remains a luxurious oasis in the middle of an inhospitable desert. Included on the grounds is a large palm grove that invites one to stroll its paths and enjoy the shade!
Explore California 