When we were at the Big Bend National Park in Texas, we noticed a few blooming cacti and it reminded me of the spring flowers in the Borrego Desert, and we added that to our list of things to see and do. So on this glorious spring morning we set out for the Anza Borrego State Park which is adjacent to Borrego Springs, CA – about 2 hours northeast of San Diego on the other side of the Laguna Mountains.
The way there takes us the same way we go to Julian, north on CA 67 through Ramona, to Santa Ysabel, where we head north on CA 79, then east on SD 52 followed by SD 522 (Montezuma-Borrego Highway) which takes you directly to the park. It’s about 13 miles from Santa Ysabel to SD 52 through a beautiful, rich, fertile valley with mountains on both sides.
SD 522 is a winding road with hairpin (20 mph) turns that takes you across the mountains from the valley to the desert. The views of the desert are fantastic. (With picture perfect weather and the top down on the Miata, it was like we died and went to heaven.)
We were late for the spring desert flowers at the park, but there were a few remaining (the best time to come is mid to late March and early April), but the views of the desert, the mountains and the abundance of life that manages to exist in that environment are unbelievable. It never ceases to amaze me how the mountains are covered with green vegetation on one side and brown, desolate rock on the other side.
There is an interesting exhibit at the visitor’s center where the geological history of the mountains and desert are explained along with wildlife exhibits of the animals, and creatures of the desert that include bighorn sheep, mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, antelope squirrels, cottontail rabbits, numerous species of birds and many kinds of snakes, insects and other creatures.
Ouch!
As usual, we opted to take a different route back to San Diego and since we were near the Salton Sea, we decided to follow SD 522 which becomes the Borrego-Salton Sea Way and takes you directly to the Salton Sea. The view of the Salton Sea from the road at higher elevations is beautiful, but down at “sea level”, it’s pretty desolate.
The sea, which is at 226 feet below sea level, was formed in 1905 when the Colorado River floodwater breached an irrigation canal under construction in Imperial County. The sea is a terminal sea with no outlet. It is fed primarily from agricultural runoff and continuously accumulates salts and other minerals which have killed most of the marine life. Surprisingly, it does have Tilapia and some small non-game fish. Given the paucity of wetlands in Southern California, the Salton Sea is an important habitat for migrating and resident waterbirds.
From Salton Sea, we drove south on CA 68 to CA 78 which took us up the back side of the Laguna Mountains to Julian. We arrived in Julian about 20 minutes before 5 PM (when the town rolls up the sidewalks on weekdays). We were just in time to pick up a cherry pie at Mom’s Pie Co. and have an early dinner at the Miner’s Diner (with ice cream sodas for dessert.) The trip back to San Diego was uneventful, but beautiful as always.