Adios, Costa Azul
Everybody’s la-la-ing like crazy
Bill Manson 11:30 a.m., Sept. 19
Anza-Borrego State Park
Beware Heart Attack Hill
But look for remnants of the Harper cabin
In the early 1900s, cattleman brothers Julius and Amby Harper, who had a family ranch with their father in Rattlesnake Valley in the Cuyamacas, discovered a large, gently-sloping valley in the Pinyon Mountains while looking ...
Elsinore Fault Zone’s tectonic forces in play
Sweeney Wash and Canyon is located in the Elsinore Fault Zone. Look forward to viewing twisted and turned pegmatite dikes along this hike that reflect Cretaceous tectonic forces in play. The wash may be part ...
Three short hikes in high part of Anza Borrego
No wonder the Kumeyaay liked Culp Valley
At an elevation of 3400 feet, Culp Valley not only provides relief from scorching desert temperatures in the months when it is too hot to hike at lower elevations in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, but ...
All this for roofing granules, poultry grit
Hike to West Dolomite Mine Peak to see interesting damage in the Coyote Mountains
The main feature of this hike is the mine and its ruins, which is interesting to explore. It is a prime example of an open-pit strip mine (now closed off). The owners, Fred Elliott, Mrs. ...
Best way to see Sandstone Canyon, Red Narrows, and Mud Palisades
A delightful surprise in the Anza-Borrego
Hike up to a spectacular red narrow gorge at the head of June Wash on the ridge of Whale Peak.
The old ranches of Borrego
The Bailey cabin, the Campbell Ranch, the trap for cowbirds
The old Vallecito Ranch is now part of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and has been designated a preserve known as Hawi-Vallecito Cultural Preserve. Hawi is Kumeyaay for “the place where tules grow” and vallecito is ...
Ride your bike around Borrego's prehistoric sculptures
And stay for the stars
Borrego Springs is the unincorporated town in San Diego’s desert area surrounded by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It is an official International Dark Sky Community where you can really see the stars at night. Borrego ...
The pull-apart basin
Best way to see Canyon Sin Nombre is on foot
Canyon Sin Nombre is located in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, an area known for its driving tectonic forces and awe-inspiring geologic structures. Geologists refer to this region as the Salton Trough, as it is ...
Burk's Bench — even better than Fonts Point
Palm Springs developer lost interest in Borrego
Most folks who drive or hike up Fonts Point Wash head to the spectacular viewpoint 4.8 miles from Highway S-22. It is one of the most scenic and popular viewpoints in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, ...
Peña Spring — a cool spot in Anza-Borrego
3500 feet above desert floor
If your route into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park takes you on S-22, sometimes known as Montezuma Grade, and past the hamlet of Ranchita, then you are well aware of the inspiring vistas as you wind ...
Desert bighorn sheep big fans of Big Spring
Explore a major upper-elevation watering hole for desert wildlife
Big Spring is one of the dependable watering holes for desert bighorn sheep. It is found in a tributary of upper Tubb Canyon and is easily accessible. The trail within the spring area is jungle-like ...
Explore a relatively unknown canyon of Anza-Borrego
Head to Hornblende Canyon if you wanna rock
Hornblende Canyon twists and turns as it climbs the shoulder of Granite Mountain. It has a great variety of plants, some dry waterfalls, old mines, plus Native American sites with morteros. As part of the ...
Anza Borrego's Diablo — a triple divide peak
It confounds logic
It was the view from Diablo Peak’s north saddle that Anza-Borrego Desert State Park rangers first discovered Fish Creek’s popular Sandstone Canyon in the 1950s. The view of Sandstone Canyon continues to impress those who ...
The Desert Oracle's Ken Layne
Protege of Country Dick Montana and Buddy Blue Seigal
In 1983, teenaged San Diegan Ken Layne had a revelation in Death Valley. “The teenage boys in my crowd would take whoever’s car that was working that weekend” — often, it was restaurateur Sam Chammas’s ...
Scampering caterpillars devour Anza Borrego's superbloom
Some sand verbena and desert sunflowers are hanging on.
By early April, the Anza-Borrego superbloom was all but over. Yellow puffs of blooming brittlebush still dotted the mountains on approach, and orange-petaled spindles still tipped the ocotillos’ tall tendrils, but the carpet of flowers ...
