Believe it or not a week after my solo Torote Canyon trip I found myself camping in Mortero Wash with Mary. We were actually trying to scout out some places for our post Thanksgiving trip. Hilights of our overnight trip were : Flooding in the desert town of Ocotillo The mystery box cars in Mortero Wash Incredible red moon rising over the Salton Sea  Numerous jackrabbit sightings in Carrizo Creek.  Pie in Julian on the way out. :-) The evening temperature was perfect and the semi-full red moon was surreal. Wish I could figure out how to take moon pictures with my cheap Canon camera. Photo album is here.  

I read about a spot called RockHouse Canyon so I convinced Mary to take a trip out to Anza Borrego to try and find it. Apparently it is accessible off Carrizo Canyon which was perfect since it is one of our favorite areas in the Anza Borrego Desert.  On the way out there were still plenty signs of snow from the storm that came through a few days back. People were actually stopping off the 8 freeway to play in the snow. We had actually planned on stopping in Pine Valley on the way out to get our snow fix but decided a beer Ocotillo's Lazy Lizard was a little more enticing.   Looking up Carrizo Canyon We spent th... [More]

Mary and I decided to take a quick overnight trip out to Anza Borrego. I was excited to go because we were finally going to get to 4-wheel the BJ70 which we bought a few months ago. The drive out from San Diego was non-eventful. The BJ70 who we are now calling "Opie", does great on flat stretches of freeway but when you hit hills patience and downshifting become your mantra. Once we arrived in the lazy, desert town of Ocotillo (I mean lazy in a good way) we decided to stop in for a beer at "The Lazy Lizard". After years of driving by this place it was fun to sit down in the one room bar with some of the Ocotillo locals.   After ... [More]

History At the time it was built the Carrizo Gorge Track in the southern portion of Anza Borrego was called the "impossible railroad" due to the fact that it required the construction of 17 tunnels and numerous trestles to negotiate the foreboding terrain.  This engineering marvel was completed in 1919 with the final spike being driven by railroad owner John D. Spreckels on Nov.15, 1919. In the past we have hiked along the tracks which takes you through amazing tunnels and over smaller wood trestles before climaxing at the 600' long and 200'  trestle. Unfortunately this is not recommended as the Carrizo Gorge Railw... [More]