Email Elizabethanza borrego desert state park
Photos of Clark Dry Lake at Anza Borrego Desert
After this blog about photos of Clark Dry Lake at Anza Borrego Desert, I believe I have one more blog to do to be finished with our trip. Normally I would not post so many photos and a bunch of blogs about one place, namely Anza Borrego Desert State Park, but I can’t help myself.
It’s such a fascinating place, so much to see and do and most people in California have no idea where it is even located. Although it is the largest state park in California. How about those apples? It is located about 2 hours Northeast of San Diego.
Now, I know what you’re gonna say. You think this is very similar to a far away place I visited several years ago, right? The Racetrack, which is near Death Valley. There are similarities but no rocks mysteriously move across the bed of this lake. A few years back, they figured out what moves the rocks at The Racetrack. It’s a thin layer of ice that forms at night and then melts in morning that moves the rocks.
Clark Dry Lake sits low in the valley at 560 feet elevation. Which means much of the moisture and rainfall flows into this lake bed but it never really fills up to be a lake. There are a few areas where it was moist. You can tell that some spots recently had water by the evaporated salt and the fact your feet make an impression by sinking ever so slightly into the terrain.
We had a bit of trouble finding how to get to Clark Dry Lake. Because we could see it from where we were photographing Desert Lupines. We sort of zigzagged through the washes, careful not to drive where vehicles were prohibited, until we finally found the road leading to the lake bed.
Flash floods are common in certain areas of Anza Borrego State Park, which is why some of the washes were closed. Also, we noted a few RVs parked further away but not as many as one would expect.
Photos of Palm Canyon Hike at Anza Borrego
For those of you contemplating a Palm Canyon Hike at Anza Borrego, my best advice to you is just DO IT. You will NOT be disappointed. Anza Borrego is the largest state park in California. This blog is about the Super Bloom of 2019 in Anza Borrego State Park, and all of the photos were shot on March 19, 2019.
We approached the Palm Canyon Hike trail at Anza Borrego State Park and saw a sign recommending that we carry at minimum 1 gallon of water per person. That seemed a bit excessive to my uniformed mind of how I would feel after hiking 3 miles over rocks, up steps, boulders, rough terrain and 6 river crossings on rocks. Good deal that my husband brought an entire portable bladder of water in his backpack because I ran out of my one liter of water on the way back.
And I am not a big water drinker.
Almost the entire hike was unreal. You simply cannot believe what your eyes are viewing. Toto, we are not in Sacramento anymore. Wildflowers explode everywhere. This is the Super Bloom that happens once every decade or so when seeds lie dormant in the desert, waiting for several years of hard rain in order to sprout. I thought Fonts Point was fascinating but the trip just kept getting better.
Although the trail starts out simple enough, soft sand and fabulous views, it quickly turns into narrow walking paths and the need to scramble over boulders.
Below are photos of the Palm Canyon Hike at Anza Borrego Desert State Park. You will see a road runner sitting on a pile of rocks. Visual evidence of tectonic plate thrusts. Beautiful yellow evening primrose flowers. A spiny granite lizard sunning himself. Desert sunflowers. A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar near purple heliotrope. Stunning white ghost flowers. Pink Bigelow’s monkey-flowers. Purple canterbury bell flowers.
A couple of costa hummingbirds. Family of Big-Horn sheep on the ridge. Apricot mallow. Several Palm Canyon hike oases at the end of the loop. Ending with a photo of me in front at the Palm Canyon Hotel restaurant, exhausted and ready for lunch. Well worth the hike. Tremendous wildflower blooms and interesting wildlife.
