Anza Borrego Desert State Park

We packed up and prepared to leave Lake Cahuilla, but delayed actual departure as long as possible, as our destination was only a short drive away and we knew check-in time was 2 PM. Parks often let campers in a bit early, but apparently that's not the case at Anza Borrego. We arrived about 20 minutes before 2 PM and though we completed the check-in process we were told we'd have to go park by the visitor's center and wait until 2:00. So we did, and of course we toured the visitor center too. 

It's nice, and subtly designed to blend with the landscape. The displays are very informative and really well done. Visitors are greeted by a model of a prehistoric bird that's sure to get everyone's attention!

Once 2:00 rolled around we breezed on through the gate and locate our site. We were situated toward the back of the campground, which is on the lower slopes of a steep canyon. We had a view of the the campgrounds various sections as well as beyond into the valley and the nearby town. 

Steve had a real challenge shoehorning the rig into our site. Be advised when visiting here, the roads and sites are all lined with boulders of various sizes. What looks spacious may not have adequate room for tires when backing in longer rigs. In spite of the challenges we were settled in just in time to watch the Superbowl.... the only TV we watched while we were in the park. 

Our site is in the Palm Canyon campground, one of the most spacious and scenic of the loops, and we are quite near the entrance to the trail that leads up to the palm grove in the canyon. There's a small pond at the base of the trail that is apparently home to several types of frogs. Their happy spring songs really added to the evening atmosphere when we stepped out for the night- time dog walk and a little star gazing. 

The plan while here was to meet up with Steve's brother Dale. He camps here often (usually boondocking) and knows the trails and the sites pretty well. I wanted to try out the trail next to us, up into the canyon, so fit that in early, before Dale arrived. 

The trail is smooth gravel at first then quickly becomes a tumbled, circuitous and sometimes steep path of sand and boulders. The official trail is carefully outlined with smaller stones and pieces of drift wood and palm tree that were damaged during a fire in 2020. The park folks here are pretty serious about hikers not stepping off the official trail so they leave no doubt as to where you should step!  

Water was running freely in the creek, which the trail crossed twice, as far as I went. I had decided to be back in camp by 11 AM, so had to turn around before I made it all the way to the palm grove.  

I arrived back at camp just as Dale was arriving..... perfect timing!

After a short visit we departed for touring some of the sites. First stop, Glorietta Canyon.

There are boondocking sites available on the road it. The park has their regulations for that type of camping posted frequently in all the areas where it is allowed. The trail here is a moderately steep, but very picturesque hike. At the moment, shrubs and wildflowers are thinking about blooming, with a few early achievers popping out here and there, but still offering great photo opportunities. 

Leaving Glorietta we continued our exploration out on the flatland at the base of the hills, suddenly out of the sagebrush here were huge dinosaurs all around us. 

They were rearing, lunging and gnashing their teeth! Well, not exactly, but a good suggestion of doing so. There is a long history of life in this desert, and there's a paleontology research center adjacent to the park, so the dinosaurs fit right in.  

The artist who created the statues and the story of how they came to be has been told in detail by others so I won't try. Here's the best rendition I've found, complete with plenty of photos and videos of the amazing work. The link will take you to several years worth of the authors exploration and study of artist Ricardo Breceda's amazing work. 

Next on the agenda, Font's Point, and a truly amazing example of geologic history. East of the town of Borrego Springs, the viewpoint is reach by traveling through a dusty dry wash.

Parking is in a designated area, and there's no clue of the vision that lies ahead. Walk up the sandy path and when you approach the ridge the view suddenly opens up to reveal a view that rivals the Grand Canyon. It's breathtaking to say the least.  The link above provides how to get there and other relevant information, in addition to plenty of photos.

Dale treated us to dinner at Carlee's cafe (wonderful food!) and we all went back to our camps to rest up for the next day's adventures. 

I the morning we met Dale in town an visited the Anza Borrego Natural History gift shop/bookstore and arboretum. They really have a traffic selection of all kinds of gifts and books and the plant collection in the garden has some specimens labeled so was helpful in identifying things we'd been passing when hiking.  Dale headed home, and we went back to camp planning to relax and start packing up when someone announced big horn sheep on the move so we grabbed our cameras and slowly moved over to the hillside directly opposite our site. Wow, we counted eight at one time, but as they gracefully navigated their way across the rocky and very steep slope they certainly didn't stay in an organized group, so we snapped away to get as many views as we could. There are several shots in the album, sorry so many but they are fascinating to watch!

Lots more photos in the album!

Beaver Dick Park, Idaho

"Beaver Dick", a Madison County park is in Idaho near the town of Rexburg. The park is on Henry's Fork of the Snake River, which is a pretty good running river at this point. Deep enough for swimming but not so swift as to be a worry about safety, at least under current conditions.

Now this is what the RVing life is all about, at least in our book.  We located a spot up near the entrance, right by the river, in view of the boat ramp.

Our campsite is to the right, between the tree trunks

Surrounded by a cluster of the biggest serviceberry shrubs I've ever seen, it was perfect for bird-watching. There's apparently no shortage of irrigation water here as the sprinklers run all day and the entire park is carpeted in lush green grass, which Shiner enjoyed very much. She was also happy to finally be somewhere that doesn't have a lengthy list of things dogs can't do "no dogs on the beach, no dogs on the trail, 'must be on a 6ft. leash at all times", etc.

She rescued her favorite log in the river, chased the ball on the grass, made friends with other dogs, and basked in the sun, then nestled down in the grass and wild camomile for a nap (nothing like a dog that smells like pineapple!)

This park is named for Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh, who was one of the last real mountain men of this valley. He was very well liked, and Jenny Lake in the Tetons is named for his Shoshone wife. She, and all their children, were killed in a smallpox epidemic and are buried nearby.

There's also a historic marker just across the highway that commemorates the North Fork Ferry, the first ferry to run on Henry's Fork, built by the people of the nearby town of Rexburg in 1888. This is a very historic location!

We originally planned on one night here at Beaver Dick, but it seemed like such a great place to just relax that we signed up for a second night. We spent the second day watching a pair of kingbirds catch bugs to feed their babies in the nest, a wooly woodpecker catching bug on one of our shrubs, and an egret fish in the river. The bugs here are plentiful, accounting for the flock of swallows and other birds that fill the are under the highway bridge in the early morning. The park does spray (natural stuff) for mosquitoes though, so we haven't been bothered at all, and there are plenty of butterflies decorating the shrubs around us. Whatever they use must be pretty selective.The park is adjacent to a wildlife management area, and there are trails that lead from the park into the wild areas so there's plenty of opportunity to explore away from the river.  The mosquito treatment also doesn't bother the cottontail rabbits. They came out every evening to graze on the grass, and to torture poor Shiner as we  wouldn't let her chase them.

Beaver Dick Park has four group areas as well as 12 individual sites. There are new vault restrooms near the group picnic area at entrance, and older ones throughout the campground. Everything is very well maintained, and we were impressed with the fact that even though the park is heavily used by local families they treat it respectfully. There is no trash around, no graffiti, no damage to any of the fishing docks or picnic tables.  There are no electric or water services available in the park so pack in plenty of water.  The best part is the price. $5 a night, or $15 for the week (5 days). Photo album here.

Mono Lake, California

We left Kershaw-Ryan State Park with the intent of stopping in Tonopah for fuel and, assuming we'd get a decent signal there, either find a spot to camp and use the broadband card to get caught up on things, or maybe an RV park with wireless.

So, off we went, down Nevada's famous Extra Terrestrial Highway (SR375.)

Aliens and Earthlings have all left a calling-card

Shortly after turning on to the highway at Crystal Springs we passed the Alien Warehouse, guarded by an 20 foot tall alien.  'Not sure what they store there, so I leave it to your imagination.

For many lonely miles we entertained ourselves with admiring the shifting colors and shadows in the hills beyond, and the few clouds that drifted here and there. Nevada really is a geological wonderland, and the colors and textures in many area touched my volcanic action as well and the layers of ancient sea-bed range from subtle reds to striking black and white with splashes of blue and green.

As we traveled farther west we came to a broad, flat plain, where the entertainment shifted to watching dust devils in the distance as they chased one another across the acres of sagebrush. . . we are easily entertained!

No such luck with the Internet connections. 'Couldn't get better than 2G in town (we're ordering a new antenna, but our phones weren't much better signal) and the three RV "parks" more resembled storage yards than someplace we wanted to spend the night. As much as we love the history of Tonopah's past as a gold mining center, it's sinking rapidly as a place we want to spend much time. We found diesel at the station in the middle of town, though it was hard to get in and out with our trailer. It was the best place price wise, as the station at the north end of town is rather proud of their product and prices it several cents higher.

Finding lodging prospects in Tonopah rather dismal, so on we went.

Steve had read discussions on the forums of dispersed camping in the Inyo National Forest (California) so that become the new objective. We approached Mono Lake from the Nevada side, through Benton (intersection of I6 and hwy 120). Benton looks like an interesting little burg, with a couple of B and B's, antique shop, and lots of interesting old equipment, wagons, etc. parked around. The day was getting short however so stopping wasn't on the agenda. We pushed on, down hwy. 120, toward the intended goal of dispersed camping areas around Sage Hen pass. NOTE: this route has some really steep grades (7% or better) both up and down, so if you are underpowered, it's not recommended.

I don't think we've ever taken this route before, and though we know the area pretty well we were still surprised by the breathtaking views. The dark and rugged Sierras, lacking their usual snow cap, but still sporting bits of white here and there, contrasting with the closer hills draped in the grays of volcanic ash flows. As the day was getting late, the afternoon shadows emphasized the sculpted forms of the side canyons. Not a great place to stop for photos however, as the road is narrow, and the reflector markers along the sides of the road make pulling of in a long rig difficult. This area is closed in winter, and at 7-8,000 ft. elevation for most of the route that shouldn't be surprising.

We discovered that there are no signs indicating camping areas, and unfortunately most of the side roads are angled in such a way that it's difficult to hit them coming from the east. They must think everyone comes in from the west, hwy. 395.


After examining the various options we ended up down closer to the lake, pulling in right at the kiosk with a display of the old Mono lumber mill.

We followed the dirt road for a short distance to a fairly level site, and the most spectacular view of Mono lake, with no neighbors!

The historical information kiosk by the road explains the history of the Mono lumber mill, which supplied the old mining town of Bodie with lumber during it's peek period. There was even a narrow gauge rail way that ran from the mill up to Bodie.

Scraps of the mill still lie in the ravine, and the kiosk has photos of the original mill.

The hillside where we walked is till littered with the old tin cans and broken bottles from the mill community, some are quite old, and it makes for interesting exploration to meander through the brush and find further traces of the settlement that grew up around the mill.

The forest is sparse right in the area we camped, due to a fire that swept through the area about 12 years ago. New trees are sprouting here and there, but the charred stumps still remain to remind us of how destructive a forest fire can be. It is natural however, and the new growth demonstrates the diversity of plant life that actually benefits from a fire.

The first day started out as a gray and gloomy, with a bit of wind, but soon became quite interesting as the clouds developed and then at sunset took on beautiful golden shades. Little dust devils kicked up out on the island, looking a little like smoke signals at a distance.

We spent two relaxing days here, watching the shifting clouds, playing ball with Shiner, taking walks, and just relaxing. 

I need a break!

More scenes from the area and cloud studies,  here.

This area is a great base camp from which to further explore the area, and there's a lot to see here.

[Dispersed camping is allowed an many areas in the Inyo National Forest. Here is the overview of requirements. It's nice to know there are still a few places where you can just set up a low impact camp and enjoy the view..... for free! Check here for a map of side roads and location of dispersed camping areas.]