joeyi

Just returned from a 6 day road trip to the desert from our home in San Diego. We happened to get the best week of weather so far this year and it was nice that all our drives were relatively short. I used VRBO.com for our accommodations in Borrego Springs and Joshua Tree and was very pleased with both homes. The hotel choices in Borrego are rather limited and price wise I think you get better value renting a home or condo.

One of the goals of the trip was to see the desert wildflowers in bloom. So far it was not a year where the desert floor was a carpet of color but we did see lots of flowers and some blooming cactus. The ocotillo in borrego are really stunning right now. The Joshua Trees are starting to bloom and according to the locals they did not bloom last year, not enough water.

We left our home sunday morning and decided to take the route through Cuyamaca to Julian and down the Banner Grade into the desert. It was a clear beautiful day with some patches of snow still in the mountains. As we dropped down into Borrego the temperature started to warm up and was a nice 72. Our first stop was to check into our house rental, Heim's Rancho Borrego house, a 3 bedroom 2 bath house near the "Winged God Bird" sculpture. We relaxed the rest of the day and took a walk around the neighborhood. There were lots of cottontails and I did see one road runner and a pair of kestrels a top a tree. That evening we watched the sky develop with all the stars you can imagine. Borrego Springs is an official dark sky community.

Monday morning I was up early and walked through the desert to see the sculptures. There were so new ones since the last time we visited and made for the perfect morning walk from the house. I came across a jack rabbit out there in the desert. I kept thinking he was gone and I would walk some more and there it was again.

On our way into town we stopped at the visitor center in town and I bought a book on wildflowers that had been recommended to me. We continued on to California Overland Adventure for our off road flower tour. We had gone on a overnight camp out with Joe Raffeto of CA Overland last year and really enjoyed the trip so decided to take his flower tour this year. He has an old army truck that he has set up for passengers and it has 6 wheel drive so he can take you down through the badlands were not many other off road vehicles can go. Joe is the only licensed concession in the park and a very knowledgeable individual. Lunch is included in the day and we meet at 10 am and did not return til after 4 pm. I will attach my photo link so you can see the flower photos and their names in the link. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a horny toad. My husband said he had not seen one in about 40 years. It really blended in with the earth and I'm still amazed it was not stepped on.

More star gazing that evening and I even saw a shooting star.

We both had been sick the week before and my husband's cough returned with a vengeance that evening. I know he was not feeling too well but Tuesday we were moving on to Joshua Tree and he said he'd hang in there as he knew that I've wanted to go to Joshua Tree NP for a long time. We had decided to take the long way around the Salton Sea as we wanted to stop at the Sonny Bono Wildlife Refuge, Slab City and Salvation Mountain.

joeyi

Here is the photo link, it includes the rest of the trip that I have not written about yet but hope to get back to later tonight or tomorrow.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...5%3A1431382595

ksucat

WOW!
Pictures are incredible!
We're planning on going in the next week or two.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Glad you made it out to see Leonard at Salvation Mountain.
Gorgeous rental home..do you have any info on that?

joeyi

Glad you liked the photos. Here is the link for the rental
http://www.vrbo.com/222381
he has a second house across the street that is
http://www.vrbo.com/232721.

The owner was very quick to respond to all my questions and his homes are pet friendly.

I probably should have put the link for CA Overland if anyone is interested in that trip. We really really liked Joe when we meet him last year and can't say enough good things about him. I know I probably sound like an advertisement, but we have NO financial gain from it, we just really would like to see his business succeed.

http://californiaoverland.com/

lindsyb

Great pics - looking forward to the rest of your report.

joeyi

Tuesday morning and we left Borrego about 10 am. We drove S-22 to the Salton Sea. This section of road is called the Borrego - Salton Seaway Erosion Road. The geology along this 27 mile stretch of road is very fascinating. You can pick up an pamphlet at the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association or go to their web site
www.abdnha.org. If you have a 4 wheel drive or the road conditions are okay for 2 wheel drive make sure to go to Font's Point to see the badlands below. There is alot of earth movement going on in this area and you can see the fault line along the santa rosa mountains.

When you reach 86 there is a large truck stop and a good place to re fuel the car.

We then headed south on 86 to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. There is no charge for admission and there are 2 viewing areas. The main one has the visitors center and a nice peaceful area where we had our picnic. We were a little late for the flocks of snow geese that migrate there for the winter, but there was still a lot of bird life including a road runner that was running around. The bird sounds were very nice during our picnic. Lots and lots of cotton tails too. There is a viewing platform at the visitor center and a trail you can take out to the shore line. I definitely plan to return in December when the migration is in full swing.

When we left the wildlife refuge we got on 111 north and when we got to Niland we found our way to Salvation Mountain. If you find Main st, it turns into Beale and that ends at Slab City. Slab City is one of the strangest places I have ever been. We first did a drive through Slab City and then stopped at Salvation Mountain and took the tour with Leonard. He used to like people bringing him paint but since he's become "famous" he has more paint than he can use so at this point in time he's requesting that people do not bring him anymore paint. He is a very interesting soul, asks for nothing but has postcards and a dvd to give to you. We did give him a donation and he was so thankful, but again he asks for nothing.

Onward north on 111, next stop Bombay Beach. I really shouldn't say stop, but a quick drive through. Another town along the Salton Sea that time has forgotten or never got to. Make sure you have your own food and water as there really is no where to stop and have lunch along this stretch.

Continuing north along 111 the views were very pretty. Way off in the distance you could see the snow capped mountain peaks of San Gorgonio, the highest peak in southern CA. The Salton Sea, dispute it's reputation looked really pretty and across the other side were the desert mountains. As we got towards the north end of the lake the lupine and brittle bush were blooming and it was all purple and yellow along the side of the road. There was very few cars until you reached the town of Mecca.

okay I need another break.

ellen_griswold

Wonderful report! This is one area i've still not explored but it's on my list! Thank you and looking forward to the next part!

joeyi

I have to back up a bit as I forgot to add the link to the sculptures in Borrego Springs. From this website you can link to a map that will give you locations throughout Borrego as they are spread out.

http://www.galletameadows.com/

joeyi

My husband's cough was really really bad this day so I had taken over the driving and let him catch up on his sleep. Cause when he was sleeping he was not coughing. I tend to think of myself as a pretty good navigator but when we got to Mecca the gps was telling me to go one way, which I knew was not the way I really wanted to go and with construction and a sleeping husband I did not find the road I wanted, Box Canyon Rd that cut across the desert to the southern entrance of Joshua Tree. Instead I took the slightly longer route up 86 N to 10 E and then in the southern entrance.

We entered the park about 3:30 pm and although I would have liked to make some stops with the way my husband was feeling I decided it was best to just drive through the park, find our rental house and let him get a good night's sleep and hope he'd be up for exploring the following day. You do not get into the big rock formations until you get up towards the Joshua Tree area but we did pass the Ocotillo Patch and the Cholla Catcus Garden. I was sorry not to stop at the cholla garden as it looked really nice especially in the light at that time of day.

I exited the park via the 29 Palms entrance as that was going to be the quickest way to our rental house. Once we got on 62 it was a left turn and then about 10 miles along 62. A quick stop at Rite Aid for much needed cough supplies was a good move on my part and made for a much better rest of the week for my husband.

We settled into our house for the next 3 nights, had a nice dinner and watched the sunset over the mountains and the stars come out.

Toucan2

I have to come back to finish, but loved what I have read so far! The pics are beautiful. Joshua Tree is on my bucket list.

joeyi

I'm up to Wednesday morning and I may not have mentioned I'm an early riser but if you noticed my sunrise picture in Borrego you probably figured it out. The sunrise was just as pretty in Joshua Tree.
The owner of the rental home lives kitty corner to the house and offered to take me on a morning hike which I was happy to take her up on since my husband is not the hiker that I am. We started out about 7:15 am and she had a route through the rocks where she knew some flowers were early bloomers. There was a beautiful showing of canterbury bells, desert tobacco and lotus flowers. Also numerous little white and yellow flowers that I do not know the names of. She did show me something very odd, someone had buried a coyote in the sand and something else had tried to dig it up and only one paw was sticking out. There was a fabulous house built into the rocks called the Doolittle House that is also in the pictures. We were able to cross into the park on foot and hike in areas that do not see much human traffic. The rocks and views from this vantage were really beautiful. We got back to house around 8:30 am and DH was still sleeping so I let him have some more rest hoping he would wake up feeling much better than the day before. In the meantime i got a picnic made and myself ready for when he did get up.

We left for the park about 10:30 am and first stopped at the visitor center in Joshua Tree. It was pretty crowded as everyone seems to have different spring breaks. The Keyes Ranch tour had been highly recommended to us so we had wanted to purchase our tickets for that and this was one of the ways to do it at the visitor center. If you are under 62 (which we are) the tickets are $5 a piece. Over 62 than it's $2.50 a piece. You can also do it over the phone. The only time they had open for us was the 1 pm tour on Thrusday so we signed up for that one. More on the tour when I get to Thrusday.

The entrance to the park is a few miles up the road from the visitors center. Once you pass the entrance the rock formations start to appear. There are many pull outs and places to stop with exhibit signs that explain the geology, plants and animals of the park. We did a few of the first stops and then pulled into one of the picnic areas. There were some beginner rock climbers and first chance to do a little rock scrambling. Also our first lizard sigthing. I also saw my first blooming Joshua Tree up close in this area. the blossoms are an amazing sight.

When we left this area we decided to take the drive to the Keyes view overlook.

Time to get back to work, so more later.

joeyi

The roads in the park are very well marked. The drive out to Keys View keeps climbing in elevation til you are at about 5100 ft. There is a good size parking lot as this is a very popular stop in Joshua Tree NP. We had a very clear day and you could see all the way to Mexico in the south, snow capped mountains to the north and all of the Coachella Valley.

We left Keys View and head towards the Jumbo Rocks area and had our picnic lunch in the campground at an empty site. The rocks in this camp ground are really nice and there were some marked hiking trails.

Our next stop was Barker Dam. This is a very easy 1.1 mile loop hike. Due to all the recent rain in California this winter the dam was holding lots of water and if it wasn't full it was close to it. A ranger was giving a talk out by the dam and said that it will be dry by summer. This is a popular place for big horn sheep, but we did not see any this day, but we did see lots of their scat. The trail loops around and goes past a big rock with some petroglyphs. Just before we got back to the main trail we came across a rock with 2 blue lizards. The sun really showed off their blue backs. You can see them in the photo link.

We were now ready to go back to the house and relax before dinner. This night we went out for our one and only meal out at the 29 Palms Inn. We had heard this was the best place to eat in the area and we were not disappointed. They even had a guitar player in the dining room. When we walked in he was playing a slack key hawaiian song that we had been listening to earlier on our ipod. My husband has been teaching himself slack key guitar for the last few years so he really enjoyed getting to hear and watch someone play. The food was very fresh, the portions were huge and dessert was homemade.

Driving to and from 29 Palms we noticed many of the murals they have painted on the buildings. It's a nice touch to the little town.

joeyi

Another early rise for me and hike with our landlord Eva. From the rental property you are in the park in less than 10 minutes. This time we hiked right up a wash that she knew. I really cannot put into words how beautiful it was and it just got better and better. We hiked for about 2 hours this morning and on the way back through the neighborhood we noticed a plant of coyote melons which were drying out. They are little gourds that after you knock them loose they make a great shaking sound. We collected a bunch as she likes to give them out to people that come visit.

DH was up and ready when I got back so we had breakfast, packed another picnic and drove into the park. First stop was Hidden Valley, another 1 mile loop trail. We were in the park a little earlier than the day before and seemed to have the trail to ourselves. When we were returning to the parking area the trail was filling up. A lot of people to come to Joshua Tree as day trippers from Palm Springs so if you want the trails more to yourself, especially these easy trails i suggest arriving early.

joeyi

We had tickets for the 1 pm tour of Keys Ranch and they recommended you meet at the locked gate at 12:45 pm. After we were done with the Hidden Valley area we decided to head towards the gate and have our picnic there.

When you arrive at the gate there are a lot of signs and it's pretty well posted what they want you do. Number one thing is to not park in front of the gate and block it. If you do not have tickets there are numbers to take and if space is available the ranger will let you on the tour and there is a place to pay. Everyone that showed up was able to get a space on the tour we were prepaid for. It seems they take about 25 people per tour. There is also a restroom at the gate.

The ranger leads you in past the gate once everyone is organized and all the cars caravan in together. It's about 1 mile to the ranch. The tour we were on was a new one that the National Park Service is trying out this year and is only given a few times a week. They call it the Living History Tour and the ranger is dressed in 1940's attire and is playing the role of a homesteader and is teaching you what life was like on the ranch in the 1940's. He did a very good job in the role playing capacity. The one part that I did not like about this tour was that anything (which was a lot) that was added to the ranch after 1940 he was not allowed to talk about. Mr. Keys lived on the ranch til the 1960's so I felt like we missed a lot of the ranch history. That being said I was glad we did get to go there as you can only go on a ranger tour. When you looked around you would have thought this was a place from the 1800's and not the 1900's. It is a great part of history and I am glad the Park was able to purchase the land and preserve the history.

At the end of the tour the ranger takes his hat off and then you have about 15 minutes to ask questions on anything at the ranch.

On our way out of the park I was on a mission to take some pictures of the blooming joshua trees. We found an area that was really in full bloom and there was one that was hanging down low enough that I was able to smell. They really have a very sweet smell, almost tropical which I know is an odd thing to say since it's the desert. It is such an interesting plant as it's the habitat for so many birds, mammals. insects and lizards.

We departed the park and went back to our rental, took a soak in the hot tub, and had a nice dinner outside on the patio.

Friday morning and it was time to head home. We took 62 to 10 E with a stop in Cabazon at Hadley's Farms for a date shake. No trip to the desert would be complete for us without a date shake. From 10 E it was 79 through Hemet and then 15 S to San Diego

All in all it was a very nice road trip to the desert.