Every year wildflower lovers throughout Southern California ask, “Will Anza Borrego have a super bloom?” In years with abundant rainfall, the Sonoran Desert landscape is filled with an abundance of colors. At the peak in mid-March visitors can see up to 92 different plant families, 346 genera and hundreds of flowering species. When there is little water resilient flowering cacti creep through the rocks. There are always creatures to spot if you look closely. Lizards are camouflaged in the dirt, lady bugs stand out on the flowers and cacti, and striped King Snakes hiss on the hiking trails. If you are lucky, you just might see an endangered desert Big Horn Sheep.
We have visited Anza Borrego many times and camp at Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the largest State Park in the nation. The lower region of the park contains desertscapes with washes, rock formations and colorful badlands. Ocotillo showcasing their beautiful red flowers are scattered about. The park offers naturalist talks, guided nature walks and campfire and Junior Ranger programs. The most popular hike leads to a grove of California’s only native palm the California Fan Palm. In years with an abundance of water there are springs and waterfalls to dip in along the way. A drive to the cooler high-country to the northeast section of the park has lush landscapes with pine forest oak woodlands and manzanitas mixed in with cacti. Colorful lichen and moss cling to the granite rock.
The small town of Borrego Springs is designated an International Dark Sky Community and is the center of public astronomy activities throughout the year. There are several hotels including the resort the popular resort La Casa del Zorro. On a drive around town we enjoyed the entertaining hand painted signs attached to cyclone fences.
Nearby there is a historical oddity -the monument to Pegleg Smith. In the mid 1800’s he claimed to have found gold in the desert and was infamous for selling maps that lead to a lost gold mine. At the monument created for him in the 1940’s there is a mailbox with a notebook register to sign your name and a rock pile. It is said that if you add 10 rocks to the pile it will give you luck to find the gold. A liars contest is held every year at the site.
The weather in the area is best in Spring and Fall. From May through October, temperatures reach over 100 degrees. In the winter in the high country and after dark it is cold, sometimes freezing.
