Flowers, Sand, Rain, Mud, Giant Sloths, Camels, Cows . . . did I mention Mud? . . . and a nice sunset too.

Today I drove out to Borrego Springs to meet my cousin, his daughter and son-in-law for a day of exploring. We knew it might rain a little, but it is the desert, how wet could it be? 


Actually, they got a fair amount of rain out there, and this is already one of the wettest years in quite some time. The desert is very green right now. Last year at this time I remember running the A/C out there, today it was fleece sweaters under heavy rain jackets for most of the day. (Now that I think about it, I needed the A/C out there last weekend, it was that warm. It was close to 80F on 2/15 as well.)  It rained for almost the entire drive out there, and the clouds were pretty low. Even with the limited visibility the drive down the Montezuma Grade was fun.

There are a few good side effects to rain this time of year. For one thing, the crowds are way down. Also, no dust on the trails. After a brief stop at the State Park Visitor Center we headed through town and north on Borrego Springs Road to check out some of the life-sized steel sculptures that have been placed there by Dennis Avery. Mom and Baby Giant Sloth look quite different when their fur is wet compared to when it is dry.

We stopped to see the raptors. This guy has some serious teeth.

Along the way we spotted some wildflowers in bloom, but I think it's going to be another week or so for the peak, depending on how long the rain lasts. The desert lillies are particularly nice this year.

We drove out to Fonts Point to check out view.

After a lunch stop at Fonts Point we headed out Arroyo Salado to 17 Palms Oasis. Arroyo Salado was much wetter than the road to Fonts, and had quite a bit of slick, slippery mud. Driving wasn't too bad at all, but walking was not all that easy at times. 

We found this particularly bright little flower out there.

Joe got a chance to get his brand new truck a little dirty.

Did I mention that there was some mud? Luckily it rained hard enough on the drive home through the mountains that a lot of that washed off.

This is what happens when the ground gets too saturated.

On the way home I stopped to check out the cows along San Felipe Road.

Later, on Hwy 78, I spotted some young camels from the Oasis Camel Dairy grazing in a field just off the highway.

It was pretty grey all day, I don't think I saw any blue sky or sign of the sun . . . until a few miles from home as I was driving west on Scripps Poway Parkway at a little after 5PM.

It turned out to be quite a nice day, both in the desert and on the drive through the mountains. I was hoping to see some snow along the route, but it never got cold enough.


Click here to see more images from today.  Click here and here to see more images of the steel sculptures that are scattered around Borrego Springs. They look quite different in the bright sun.