We left Leucadia on a damp, foggy winter morning in hopes of enjoying some clear desert skies. Our destination was the mud caves at Arroyo Tapiado in the Southern Anza Borrego Desert. The Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves are the result of centuries of rain and flash floods which over time have formed an intricate labrynth of  tunnels , sink holes and slot canyons.  While we have been out to the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves a handful of times, this time the plan was to visit some of the caves we had not yet explored. Once we arrived we established our "base-camp", donned headlamps and entered the first dark cave opening. Now if you have any... [More]

Snapped a closeup of a Monarch Butterfly while we were camping in Carrizo Gorge on Thanksgiving. We also managed to mount the Maggiolina Rooftop Tent onto Mary's Toyota Tacoma which takes a little bit of tweaking. :)    

Borrego Days marks the start of the desert season in Anza Borrego. Temperatures are beginning to drop from their summer highs allowing hikers, campers and 4-wheelers to return and enjoy the beautiful Anza Borrego Desert.  Unlike most of our trips to Anza Borrego, the Maggiolina Rooftop tent, propane stove and other various types of expedition gear were left behind. We had an invite to stay with friends in Borrego Springs at their beautiful rancho style home. (Thanks Jon and Elena)  After a quick morning hike along the old De Anza trail, Mary and I headed over to the Borrego Days festival, checking out some of the Galleta Meadows s... [More]

 After driving out to Ocotillo to voice my concerns over the proposed Ocotillo express Wind Farm, I came to realize that the  Bureau of Land Management's definition of "public input" was a bit inconsistent with mine. Representatives from the BLM, Imperial County officials and Pattern Energy were all given center stage, but when it came time for Ocotillo residents and others to voice their concerns, the presentation quickly came to an end.  We were told that this was an informational meeting only and comments would only be accepted via email and letters. Personally I think the whole project makes the BLM very uneasy.... [More]

Daren who frequents the forum participated in this years annual Anza Borrego Bighorn Sheep count. The three day event, staffed by volunteers, was a great success.

During his watch Daren snapped this great shot from high above upper Hellhole Canyon. You can check out more of Daren's great BLOG at http://www.sefcik.com/ [More]

At an Elevation of 6533 feet/ 1991 meters, Hot Springs Mountain has the distinction of being the tallest mountain in San Diego. It tops San Diego's next highest peak, Cuyamaca Mountain, by a mere twenty one feet. The amazing thing about Hot Springs Mountain, located on the Los Coyotes reservation, is that the peak is accessible by a high clearance vehicle preferably with 4-Wheel Drive. For our ascent, we chose to hike up the old jeep trail leaving our vehicle at the campground 2000 feet below the summit. Large fields of yellow wildflowers and daisies lined the trail as we trekked upwards. The cloudless, blue sky beckoned us further and we so... [More]

Check out some of the great wildflowers we have seen over the past few months out in Anza Borrego. Click photo to start the show.

This started out as one of those trips that looked like it might not happen.  First there was the over anxious border patrol agent that hassled me at the Mortero Wash checkpoint. I am not sure why he singled me out? Perhaps it was the combination of the sunglasses, beard and the Lazy Lizard baseball cap that aroused his suspicions?   Next as I pulled off at Indian Gorge, Daren was heading out in his big Dodge diesel looking a little stressed. OK sure I was an hour late (sorry Daren) but this looked like something else. He explained that while on a short morning hike, he got stung by an irritated bee which caused an allergic reacti... [More]

Its' nice to hike off the established trails and really explore the Anza Borrego Desert. Of course you have to be aware of the various hazards that you may encounter such as sharp cactus, rock, bees, snakes and other things that seem intent on ruining your day.  Lucky for us our snake encounter was of the non-poisonous kind. This particular snake, known in the desert southwest as a Red Racer (?) seemed content to lie in the sun with his head in the shade and let us take candid pictures of him.    More Anza Borrego Wildflower Photos Here

This small desert mouse stole a cracker while we were enjoying the campfire on our last camping trip. Unfortunately for him it wouldn't quite fit in his den.  Click title of post to view video.