When most people say they’re flying to California they tend to be excited about spending time in big cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco.
For me, the first thing I did when I arrived in San Diego was head for the Colorado Desert. The desert is actually in Mexico and California – south of the Mojave Desert and considered part of the Sonora Desert.
Geography lesson aside, the Colorado Desert is a low-lying desert. It’s dry and shrubby. Not many big cacti in this part of the desert. There is plenty to see though!
Most of my time in the Colorado Desert was spent in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. As California’s largest state park, there was a lot to explore. The wildflowers weren’t out yet, as I arrived in late winter, but I still found the odd looking plants quite interesting.
As I continued east from San Diego, through the park I eventually came in sight of Borrego Springs. Nestled amongst the mountains Borrego Springs proclaims itself as California’s Secret Desert.
If you judge it by the odd desert sculptures that greet you as you approach the village, then you don’t doubt you’ve entered some sort of strange desert oasis.
As alluring as those rusty sculptures and looming mountains were, I resisted spending much time in Borrego Springs, as I found the desert itself interesting enough. Wide washes that had been previously flooded were countered by deep canyons and the rocky cliffs would be spattered with pockets of colour, creating a nice visual as I passed through the State Park.
If you like wide-open spaces and big skies this is a perfect place for camping only a few hours from San Diego. But, if you’re like me, you may want to drive a little further northeast to the edge of the Colorado Desert and into the Mojave Desert to check out Joshua Tree National Park.
Love the Barrel Cactus! Sounds like a very wild and natural place (apart from the elephant obviously).
Natasha von Geldern recently posted..Australia snapshot: Rock climbing at Mt Arapiles
Thanks natasha..the Barrel cactus was cool… the elephant was sweet too 😉
Love the cacti pictures! We live in San Diego so we look forward to visiting Anza Borrego during Spring for the wildflowers. It wasn’t very impressive last year though. Will keep an eye out for that elephant next time =)
Mary @ The World Is A Book recently posted..Walking through the Land of the Giants
Haha! The barrel cactus reminds me of an accident which I had, maybe at age 6 or so. Haven’t seen them in a while. Great pictures! I love Mojave Desert.
Inge recently posted..Mondays Around the World ~ Grenada, Caribbean Sea
Hey Mary & Inge…the barrel cactus is pretty cool, I’d love to see the desert in colour, when wild flowers are all around!
Wonderful place. Next time, check out Julian Pie Company on the way in Julian, CA.
Pies with locally grown apples are most popular, but I love the pecan ones most.
http://www.julianpie.com
Mmm, pie! I’ve been known to buy a pie and have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner…so thanks for the tip Don!
Red,
Love the photo, I too love the Colorado Desert. Theres something that keeps drawing me back year after year. Theres nothing like it around Kansas City.
Cheers Jim, glad you liked the pics. It’s a great part of the US, nothing like it up here near Toronto either! (And, sidenote, KC is probably one of the most surprising cities I’ve been to in the US, really enjoyed it there.)