Borrego Springs
Scorpion Versus Grasshopper
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
The Slot
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
St. Richard Catholic Church
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.
Seventeen Palms Oasis
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.
The Pumpkin Patch
The Pumpkin Patch is an interesting geological site located within Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area east of Borrego Springs. The “pumpkins” are actually concretions which are formed much like a pearl, in that sand is naturally cemented around small objects such as a pebble, a piece of shell, or an insect.
Serpent Sculpture
Borrego Springs, the gateway to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (California’s largest at approximately 600,000 acres), contains an awesome collection of metal sculptures (roughly 130) by Ricardo Breceda, many commissioned by the late Dennis Avery (Avery Labels heir), placed in Avery’s Galleta Meadows Estates and open to the public. Be sure and pick up a map to sculpture locations (available in town).
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