BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA....WHAT A GREAT LITTLE PLACE:))

OUTSIDE THE BORREGO SPRINGS LIBRARY & MINI SHOPPING CENTER

We have a steel roof on our mobile home here in Bayfield & right now it's raining so hard I can't even hear my own mumblings.  The weatherman sure hasn't co-operated for our Canadian Thanksgiving week-end so far.  Even the turkeys are soaked. LOOKING WEST ALONG BORREGO'S MAIN STREET FROM THE CHRISTMAS CIRCLE

Two weeks from this morning we will be busy loading ourselves into the rig for our trek to the southwest.  I will be happy to finally pull the gearshift lever into drive & end all this apprehensive waiting.  These final 2 weeks would be very exciting if I was still a kid but as an adult the excitement is always a bit subdued by the reality in thought of the journey ahead with it's concerns & unknowns.   Once the big wheels are rolling those thoughts quickly diminish & it's on with the business & enthusiasm of the journey ahead.  Nice to once again see the countryside rolling by, feel the gentle roll of the big rig underfoot, & hear those traveling tunes cranked up on the stereo.   Let er rip Mr. Nelson.......On The Road Again:)) 

GOLF COURSE & LANDSCAPING AT THE 'SPRINGS AT BORREGO'

WANDERING WILLY  had 3 posts recently about his early RV camping & trailer days which reminded me of a unique RV trailer park in Bisbee, Arizona that we saw last winter.  Called the SHADY DELL it consists of vintage travel trailers laid out in a park setting that you can stay in for the night or by the week.  Check to-days blog photo album for our walk-through the 1950's style nostalgic RV park earlier this year.

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We were in Slab City California a couple seasons ago having our solar panels installed when a passing comment from a fellow RV'er about a place west of the Salton Sea led us to the quiet little desert/mountain town of Borrego Springs.

We spent 17 days boondocking at the Clark Dry Lake Bed area that time & another 17 days just this past season again.  We will likely end up there this year for a few more days as well.

ANZA-BORREGO STATE PARK VISITOR'S CENTER

BORREGO SPRINGS is literally an oasis in a harsh desert landscape nestled into the foot of the towering San Ysidro mountains .  Palm trees, green grass, lush flowers & vegetation along with acres of orange, lemon, & grapefruit trees make Borrego Springs a true diamond in the rough.  No traffic lights here, no car crazy chaos, no big box stores or chain restaurants.  No endless acres of paved parking lots with ticky tacky stores as far as the eye can see.  Main street stretches east & west for about  half a mile or so & has retained its early western flair tastefully blended with modern facilities like a great library & small shopping complex.  A large round-about & wide traffic route called Christmas Circle begins the main street from the east & is the center of events for flea markets, farmer's markets, etc.  An award winning design for the Anza-Borrego State Park visitor's center is here complete with RV Park & can be found at the western end of the main street.  There are 2 or 3 other RV Parks as well including one very high end park complete with a large beautifully landscaped golf course called THE SPRINGS OF BORREGO.  This are also permanent living units here as well. 

OVERLOOKING BORREGO SPRINGS BELOW FROM NEAR THE CULP VALLEY CAMPGROUND

TOURING THE BORREGO BADLANDS ON A JEEP TOUR WITH LOCAL BORREGO SPRINGS RESIDENTS

Despite the harsh appearance of the surrounding desert, Borrego has a very ritzy side to it so be sure to see our photos of both the ritzy & the dusty side.  Borrego has a small airstrip as well & it's nice to drive around the backstreets to see the beautiful homes with their ever creative desert landscaping.

 CHRISTMAS CIRCLE

If you check our side bar to the right you can scroll down to our archive section where you will see the months & years listed of our travels.  We have spent a total over 34 days in Borrego Springs over the past couple of years so check out 2007 for the dates between December 21rst & 31rst.  Also January 2008 from Jan 1rst to the 7th.  Also have a look at December 31rst of 08 right up to January 17th of 2009.  All photos for those dates can be found in our photo albums for those dates as well.  PHOTO ALBUMS.  You will find our day trips to the Borrego Slot Canyon, Palm Springs Canyon, Hell Hole Canyon, Marshal South's Ghost Mountain, the little mountain town of Julian, Salton City by the Salton Sea, a couple of Jeep tours with local Borrego Springs residents, the Borrego Badlands, & a drive along the old Butterfield Stagecoach route heading towards San Diego, plus hikes & drives in & around the desert landscape.  This is a very friendly little RV town with lots of activity put on by the Anza-Borrego State Park & the local townspeople themselves.  I should add that Borrego Springs is totally surrounded by the vast Anza-Borrego State Park system.

 KELLY BUYS A COUPLE DOGGY BEDS FROM A VENDOR ON CHRISTMAS CIRCLE

Oh, & I should add that the nearest Wally World to Borrego Springs is a leisurely 58 mile drive to Brawley.  That is an important factor to RV'ers for sure & I might add this is a new looking Wally World with with a real southwest design to it having only been constructed in the last couple years.  And they have a McDonald's as well as all the assorted fast food places in Brawley as well so it's is a popular last stop if your heading to Borrego Springs from the southeast. 

THE BORREGO RANCH & SPA RESORT

Turned out to be a busy afternoon here at home in Bayfield to-day as Kelly scurried back & forth to the motorhome with armloads of this & that.  Wanted to take advantage of the sunny day because next week is looking cold & wet again.  Two weeks from now we should be stopped for the night somewhere north of Indianapolis.  Yay team:))

BOONDOCKING AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS WITH NEIGHBOR'S CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON THEIR AIRSTREAM TRAILERS

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez. 
'How was he killed?' asked one detective.
'With a golf gun,' the other detective replied. 
'A golf gun? What is a golf gun?' 
'I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.'

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

IT'S KELLY SITTING ON THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK

Just over a hill to our west is the RV area that a lot of Canadians frequent during the winter months. It is called Peg Leg Smiths & there is actually a monument there to the man himself. You can read about Pegleg's lost gold mine here...http://www.desertusa.com/magnov97/gold/nov_gold2.html

From our campsite to Peg Leg is only about a half mile or so & this morning we hiked up the hill that separates us. Nice view & I took some pictures for the web album from atop the rocky hill. A lot of Canadian RV'ers come to this spot each year & it was actually an RV'er from Peg Leg that told us about this area when we were in Slab City a year ago. Borrego Springs is only a short drive so it's an ideal spot for the Canadian snowbirds.

PEG LEG SMITH'S IN THE FOREGROUND

Kelly's ankle is getting stronger so we figured on a hike south of Ocotillo Wells. Book said an easy 1 mile loop trail leads to a rare elephant tree. We had been looking for elephant trees in the Mountain Palm Canyon area earlier & that was where Kelly originally hurt her ankle. We had heard of Ocotillo Wells before but had never been down around that area. Ocotillo Wells is only about a 25 minute drive & there really isn't a town of sorts there. It is known as a prime off road recreation area & each year hundreds of thousands of kids descend on this place with their dune buggies, dirt bikes, ATV's, Jeeps, & just about anything else that has a motor. RV's, tin shacks, adobe huts, some nice houses, & a lot of tumble down places are scattered for miles across the desert floor. Luckily for us everything was peaceful & quiet this morning. We headed south out of Ocotillo Wells for a few miles until we came across the turn off that lead to the Elephant Tree Trail. The sandy road started off ok but got very rock infested by the time we reached the trail head. Good thing we brought water because it was very, very, hot. We had been told that rattlesnakes will come out this time of year if the weather is hot to sun themselves, so that was foremost on our minds as we hiked up the sandy wash & onto the rocky trail. No snakes but I did see 3 small lizards skittering about. About 15 minutes of walking finally brought us to the elephant tree. Not a very big tree as far as trees go but when we looked at the trunk section it was easy to see why they are called Elephant Trees. It had a very sweet aroma to it as well. We took a few pictures & then headed back for the car. Just too hot to be out tramping around in the desert this morning & Kelly had a headache by the time we got back to the parking area. MAX, ON OUR MORNING WALK

We were hoping to drive to Split Mountain & hike to the Wind Caves a little further down the road as well but it was not to be. Turned off the highway at the marker for Split Mountain & headed up a sandy wash for about half a mile. Sign had said 3 miles to Split Mountain but I didn't like the feel of the soft sand grabbing at the tires. Our Hyundai Santa Fe is only a 2 wheel drive & the sand was definitely feeling like 4 wheel drive country to me. Didn't want to take the chance of getting stuck way back in there because not many vehicles pass this way, maybe no cell phone coverage in this remote area, & in the heat of to-day we just didn't want to make any wrong decisions. Turned around & headed back to the highway, back through Ocotillo Wells & eventually back to Borrego Springs. It had been a nice way to spend the morning because we got to see some new territory & it got us out doing something. My favorite days are out exploring new roads or trails. I don't mind sitting around the rig once & awhile but I sure get bored fast if I don't have something to do or a challenge in front of me. That's why I've never understood people who just spend the entire winter months in one place sitting in their rigs. And each year they go to the same place & do exactly the same thing every day that they did the day before & the year before that. But, it's different strokes for different folks & that's what makes this whole thing work.

Before we reached Borrego Springs we stopped at the Borrego Ranch (formally, La Casa Del Zorro) near the little community of Montesoro. We weren't sure what it was but there was a lot of greenery & palm trees so we drove in. Wow, what a swanky-do place. We ended up for nearly an hour in there driving & walking around looking at how the rich folks spend their time. I took a lot of pictures & will post them to the web album sometime Saturday but not to-night. To-nights pics will be from the Ocotillo Wells area. We couldn't help but notice the lack of people in this posh playground to-day & that's probably why we got away with taking so many photos of the place. Here is a link to the newly renovated & recently opened, Borrego Ranch.
http://www.borregoranch.com/ bet this place is going to attract movie stars, if already hasn't. I did get a long telephoto shot of the pool area with a blonde in a white bikini but the person was very far away so no positive ID on Britney Spears. Yep, could be Hollywood alright.

MOTORDOG & HER NEW FOUND DINOSAUR BONE

We had only been back to the rig about 5 minutes when a Class C rolled in & parked a short distance away. Acres & acres of room, countless campsites & this guy rolls in & sets up camp next to us. I call those types of people, "huddlers." As soon as they see another RV they feel compelled to come over & huddle. I don't mind friends parked nearby but we don't care for the those strange huddler types!! Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about that. We'll see how things go to-morrow.

We were going to try the earth oven to-night with a couple of small pizzas but when Kelly saw the price of them in the grocery store this afternoon, that was the end of that idea!! I suggested we try some ice cream in the earth oven but Kelly gave that idea two thumbs down. Women huh!!

Another totally beautiful star studded night with no wind. Kelly had a nice campfire going again & all was quiet in the neighborhood. Even the new neighbor's were keeping things quiet. Not sure what's on tap for to-morrow but as long as it's got something to do with something I've never done before or somewhere I've never been or seen before, I'll be a happy camper....................................

OK, WHICH ONE'S THE ELEPHANT TREE

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