Anza-Borrego

A welcome sight!

When we first started making plans for this trip, Linda asked if there was a chance that we might visit some of the spots where she camped when she was a young child. Of course, I agreed, and this became a major focus of ours during our journey down to Queen Valley, AZ and then back home to Post Falls.

Linda's family had been a very active camping family when she was young. They would load up many a weekend and drive down into the desert to Anza-Borrego State Park and enjoy the solitude of the desert. 

We knew it was a bit crazy to stay in QV and then drive south to Kartchner Caverns and loop all the way back over to Anza-Borrego before returning home but in our view, it had to be done. 

After our stay at the caverns, we followed highways 8 and 86 into the desert. Linda had gotten us reservations at the park where she and her family spent many weekends relaxing and exploring. As we drove through the town of Borrego Springs, Linda's eyes filled with tears and she began to tell me the stories she remembered of this unique area. 

Linda and her family had visited so often that they knew all the names of the park rangers. Her father, many times, would drive the family down to the park, spend the weekend and then leave the family and return to Alhambra for the workweek. Mom and the kids would spend the week enjoying the desert and then he would return on Friday after work. She told me about the many hikes they took. One, in particular, was the Palm Canyon trail into the oasis. I loved hearing her memories and the look in her eyes as we entered the park. 

As you can imagine she was excited, but she also realized that it had been almost 50 years since she had been there. We talked about what she remembered, and that, other than modern upgrades in the park, the layout of the campground was much the same as she remembered it from her childhood.

We found our campsite and settled in and for the next four days we hiked and drove around the area exploring our first real desert.

Linda's favorite memories were of the hike up Palm Canyon to the oasis. She had told me the stories of those hikes. On one occasion the entire family was sitting under the palm trees on the sands near the water when a photographer approached and asked if he could take pictures of the kids playing by the spring. With the parent's approval, he shot photos. When he finished he said that he produced postcards from his shots and that he may create one of the kids. Our hike up this trail was a bit different. We were unable to get right down into the oasis as there'd been a fire two years ago and they were allowing restoration to take place. They were also a bit concerned about falling palm trees. The native palms in this area were noted for their "skirts" of palm fronds that form up and down their trunks. 

Sure enough one of the photos was used to create postcards and were sold in the gift store. The family was able to get several for their memories. 

Scan of the original postcard.
Linda's dad with Linda and
her sister

On one of the days, when we weren't hiking, we drove to an area where an artist had created metal sculptures of animals and prehistoric creatures. It was amazing!  

The artist was a Mexican bootmaker who created a metal elephant for his daughter's birthday.  The work was discovered by a millionaire, the heir to the Avery Labels fortune, and the bootmaker was commissioned to build other statues for an exhibit on the outskirts of Borrego Springs.  As it turned out, he created over 130 different metal sculptures. These beautiful pieces of art are called the Galleta Meadows Sculptures.

Linda's Notes:

Though I spent just the first 11 years of my life in southern California, those years had a huge impact on me. They were the years that fostered my love for sports and the outdoors.

My family went camping as often as possible - all 5 of us in a pop-up tent trailer. One of our very favorite places to go was Anza Borrego State Park.

Our campsite in the park.

I have regaled Dean with our exploits at Anza Borrego for the last 40 years. When Dean and I decided to spend this winter in Arizona I knew we HAD to visit Anza Borrego on our way home.

My memories of Anza Borrego aren't only specific details of our times there though I have many of those - Dad hiding a penny in a palm tree to find on the next hike of the Palm Canyon Trail; Oscar, the roadrunner (and his descendants); having us kids' picture randomly taken by a professional photographer who then got permission to make it into a postcard to be sold at the gift shop... Mostly, the memories are emotional memories, memories of how I felt when I was there.

As we passed the sign welcoming us to Anza Borrego State Park, I started crying. I was really surprised by this reaction. Dean asked if I was ok and I was. My tears were tears of gratitude for being able to share something that had been so important to me as a kid with someone I loved so much. There were also tears of remembrance - for my dad who's no longer here and with whom I couldn't share this. They were also for my mom. She has been sad to not be there with us to see this "family place" again, but also so excited for Dean and me to experience this together. She made us promise to tell her all about it while we were there. I shared all of our adventures with her - the changes (not as many as you'd think in the 50 years since I'd been) and the things that had remained the same.

Dean will do his Canyonwren Travels blog entry and fill everyone in on our wonderful stay here. Dean's already made a slide show to share with Mom. I just felt the need for a small introduction to this very special place.

Hike Photos:

The desert was green,
and blooming plants were everywhere.

Hiking to Palm Canyon oasis.

We passed an artist painting the canyon.

The Oasis where Linda played.

Metal sculptures in the desert.

Prison

We are in Yuma now. Steve and Jodi left the state park about an hour before we were ready to roll. Then when everything was secure we followed them west to their winter grazing lot. We tucked our rig between their trailer and their lot buddy, Ken's big RV.

On Friday we drove into old town Yuma and took a tour of the Yuma Territorial Prison Museum. This was a great self-guided tour and there were many stories to read about prison life and the men and women who had to live that life. The museum had scores of antique items that were gathered and placed in glass cases. Photos and stories of prison life covered every wall. Outside the museum, you could walk around the grounds and look at the cells that held up to 12 prisoners.  It was a terrible place and we could not believe that people lived their lives there. Incredibly, at the time the prison was built, it was considered to be remarkably modern and upscale.

Such beauty in such a harsh place.

Southern Side Trip

Today we left Queen Valley. It was the end of our stay there and we were ready to hit the road to a new adventure. Not that we didn't love our stay in that quaint little place, we were just itching to move on. Next stop - Kartchner Caverns State Park. 

Wait, before we start telling you all about this next adventure, I'd like to point out a few things about my Canyonwren Travels Blog.  This post marks the 1,000th entry. I started posting in 2005 and have been able to keep describing our adventures in this form for seventeen years! Even more astounding is that I have had over 146,653 visitors in that time. I think that is very cool, especially since I had never thought of writing as being fun. It has sort of grown on me.

Note the Ocotillo on the hillside.

Our first stop on this leg of the adventure is Kartchner Caverns State Park located near Benson, AZ. We have booked four nights in the park campground and will meet up with Steve and Jodie Nelson to explore together. We pull into the campground and the very next rig to pull in behind us was the Nelsons.

It took a bit of work to level our little house at the campground. The site we were given took every one of our leveling blocks to get us close, but we made it work.  We met with the Nelsons and drove into Benson looking for a place to eat. It was Sunday and most of the town was closed down. 

We changed our plans and Jodie cooked up some wonderful enchiladas. I was tired and we spent the rest of the evening chatting before turning in and getting some sleep.

The next morning we got going and walked to the Kartchner Caverns Visitor Center. We were scheduled for the Big Room tour of the caves at 10:45 AM, so we went up early and explored the visitors center.

We met our Park Ranger in a seating area behind the center and listened to the story of how and when the caverns were discovered. This informative session lasted about 20 minutes and then we loaded into an electric tram and were taken out into the hills where we started our tour of the caves. Everything about this site is pretty amazing. The discovery, the campaign to make it a natural historic site, the excavation and construction of the entries to the caverns, and finally the precautions are taken to keep the caves as pristine as possible. 

One of the first facts we learned is that the plant Ocotillo grows best in soil that is well-drained and contains limestone.  Caverns are formed in limestone when water runs through the minerals. If you are looking for caves, look for areas covered with ocotillo and you may be able to find a cavern. This is very apparent when you look at the plant growth above the cave entrances. Also, note that there are no saguaro cactus in this region. We must be at a higher altitude. Coming from Queen Vally to this area, it is very noticeable.

Bee art on a wall in Bisbee.

The tour lasted about 1 hour 45 minutes. Our guide was very nice and did a good job of explaining the history and geology of the site. We all felt it was well worth the entry fee. Unfortunately, no cameras, phones, or backpacks were allowed in the caverns. They were very strict on keeping these underground treasures safe and uncontaminated. The entrance and exit to the caverns were sealed by huge heavy doors, like the sort on commercial deep freezes. Upon entering, we actually walked through a mister to help keep from drying things out. The caverns are kept at a constant 72 degrees with 98% humidity. This was VERY different from any cave we'd ever been in!

Yes, we walked up there.

We walked back to the campground and loaded into Nelson's truck and took a drive southeast to a historic townsite called Fairbank.  This ghost town was a thriving railroad town that survived from 1882 to 1903.  We were able to walk around the main area and look at the school and several buildings that remain.  Following a trail north of the town, we came upon a cemetery. It was high above the surrounding area. The view was very cool, but the Fairbanks Cemetery has not been taken care of and is in poor shape. The graves are hardly noticeable and only a few have headstones. 

After we finished our hike we returned to the campground and had dinner and went to bed.

The next morning was clear and cool, so we loaded up in the truck and drove southeast to Bisbee. (Bisbee Wikipedia) This little town was and still is, a mining town built in three close valleys. The buildings are old and have been updated in very unique ways. To get anywhere in Bisbee you have to climb up or down. There is no level spot in the entire town. The three valleys divide the town and each of the streets climbing up into these spots passes very interesting buildings with art around every corner. I really think you could explore this town for two or three days. 

Our next stop was the famous town of Tombstone. You have all seen the movie, so I won't go into detail about the history. Our visit included lunch at Big Nose Kate's Saloon and a stroll down Main Street to the O.K. Corral.  Everything in this town costs money. Do you want to see a gunfight?  $15, pay at the door. Want a photo with a real cowboy? $$$. You get the idea.

We drove back to Benson and had pizza for dinner. The food was very good and by the time we got home, it was getting dark and cool outside. We made plans for a morning hike and went to our separate homes.

The morning was beautiful! Our hike took us on a trail they call the Foothills Loop with a climb to the Mountain Viewpoint.  The total distance was about 3.5 miles and we enjoyed every step of our walk.

Eclectic doors and art items.

Art map of Bisbee.

Tombstone

Steve is the one on the left.

Foothills Loop Hike

Grinding holes are used to make flour from seeds.