Photos of Visit to Borrego Springs, California

Here I am, sitting outside at The Mall on Palm Canyon Drive in Borrego Springs. You will note the plant behind my head that looks a bit like Medusa. Well, it is my new favorite desert plant called an ocotillo. In the spring, it features bright red flowers on its tips.

One of the art stores at The Mall just got ocotillo sculptures. They seem to be made from rebar and painted green with red glossy floral tips. Very pretty. But I desire the real thing, an original living plant.

I do not know how many tourists descend upon Borrego Springs in the spring but the official population of the town from July of 2018 is 3,676 residents. And according to one website, 1 million tourists annually visit Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The name of the park is in honor of Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, who studied the desert in 1774 and, of course, Borrego is the Spanish word for sheep.

This scene is visible from a long ways while driving up Tilting T. Everywhere you look, evening primrose and other wildflowers in bloom, and this is somebody’s house and yard. Although the entire town of Borrego Springs is surrounded by California’s largest state park, Anza Borrego.

Every day we drove toward Palm Canyon Drive from Tilting T, I wondered about this field. Sometimes things are not as close as they appear. But then on Tuesday, we finally decided to navigate to the property to take a look. It wasn’t that far away at all.

Who can resist desert sunflowers? They bloom everywhere as well. In town, out on the deserted roads, washes, anywhere a seed can take root. Not to be confused with brittlebrush, which is also a yellow flower but without the orange centers. During our Palm Canyon Hike, we spotted many desert sunflowers.

While we drove the canyon coming into Borrego Springs, I shot this photo through the front window of our vehicle. In the bottom left is an ocotillo. But if you look closely at the pale green of this mountain, you can see swathes of yellow wildflowers. Completely different scenery than, say, Fonts Point.

Much of this particular desert is shaped by water. The carved rock you see in this photo is similar to roadside attractions you can find in Death Valley. To me, they resemble giant’s toes.

One of the things you might not know about Borrego Springs is its reputation as the first International Dark Sky Community in America. There are no street lights in Borrego Springs, to protect the night sky from pollution. It is a perfect place to study constellations. My husband shared his Sky Guide app with me that outlines constellations and recognizes them. You can get it at the App Store.

Many artists live in Borrego Springs. The dinosaurs my husband Adam is getting chewed by were created by Richard Breceda. On the road to the Anza Country Club, you can visit Galetta Meadows, where many of Breceda’s sculptures are located. However, you can also see them in town at The Mall.

Out on Henderson Canyon Road we found plenty of Arizona Lupine in bloom. I tried to shoot the Sand Verbena but no matter which way I aimed my camera, it came out a blurry pink plastic looking mess. But the Arizona Lupine is beautiful. Never seen a field of lupine up close like this. But viewing wild lupine like this is a good reason to visit Borrego Springs.