Desert stuff and water

Last week, I went to the Borrego Springs area. I used to go there more often in the past, but with high gas prices, it made it too expensive to do so. When I went, it was very nice with mostly clear skies and mild temperatures. I went out to look for birds, mostly.

The first place I went to was Peña Springs in the Culp Valley area of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I've been there many times and have even done artwork based on that area. The funniest thing is that I can never find the actual spring though I look really hard for it. Someone will have to show me where it is sometime. Springs are interesting places to visit as they often attract a lot of animals, especially in the summer. If you do visit a spring during the warmer months, be respectful and limit your stay. That way, the animals won't have to wait too long to get their water.

Here are some photos of the landscape:

On the way down to Borrego Springs, I noticed, for the first time, that there are two large solar farm in the valley. I love green power, but I worry about the birds. At first, this one looked like it was a lake, which made me worried. However, the panels were all propped up at an angle. I noticed when I was driving level that it emitted a bright shine.

This one has flat panels, but they are dark, so they don't look like water. I am not sure about hot hot they get, but not all solar panels heat up. I didn't actually visit the farms or talk to anyone from them, so I don't know much about them except what I can see from a distance.

I heard there was a rare bird over at Rams Hill, a resort-residential area that has long been established. I also heard that the golf clubhouse has good food at reasonable prices. The area is restricted and you're not allowed to visit unless you are going to the golf course or clubhouse. You must check in with the guard. Once you're there, you can walk on the golf cart trails, though.

They have very nice water features there. I really enjoyed the landscaping which attracted a lot of migratory birds. I guess there's been controversy over Rams Hill having so much water as there are water issues in the Borrego Valley. I'm not sure if those issues with Rams Hill were resolved or if they have found a compromise, but that wasn't why I was there.

Lots of coots there, enjoying the water and warm weather, plus they fertilize the greens. I wish I took a photo of the clubhouse. But, since they have good food, I may be back anyway.

Oh, and the rare bird, an Inca dove, was not found that day.

Hiking in the Desert With Flowers

In April 2009, I did a very long hike down almost the entire length of the California Riding and Hiking Trail.  I've actually done the entire trail from north to south.  It's a nice trail with lots of interesting scenery and wildlife.  Here's what I wrote about back then.

In early April, 2009, I took a really long hike on the California Riding and Hiking trail which is located in the western part of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The area that I hiked is in what might be considered the "high desert" at about 3500 to 4000 feet in elevation. But, the trail actually starts in Borrego Valley at Hellhole Canyon and goes up and down in elevation until it reaches the Vallecito Mountain range.

While I was hiking there, I saw a large variety of tiny yellow flowers that I don't know the name of. I have included photos of it attached to this article as well as in my accompanying slideshow "Hiking the California Riding and Hiking Trail" already posted on Associated Content. Parts of the area were covered in yellow, especially at the higher elevations. There were also tiny white, pink, purple and blue flowers, too, but I didn't take pictures of them as they don't look too good when I photograph them.

The area that I chose to hike was hardly used and much of the trail was overgrown with plants and flowers. I regret that I had to step on many of them to make my way down the trail. But, this is a good sign that there was enough moisture this last season to have this many flowers. And, the flowers are very hardy and tough. Nothing much seems to phase them as long as you don't pull them out of the ground. One thing I did notice was that there seemed to hardly be any bees out pollinating them. That could have been due to the cold and windy weather that day.

From talking to people, I've noticed that many people really don't make any effort to see desert flowers. The best way to view them is by getting out of the car and actually hiking. So many of the flowers are extremely small and can't be seen by driving around. Also some flowers only grow in very specific places where the wind and water is just right. A few weeks before, I hiked an area where there were pretty much no flowers visible at all from the main road, but by hiking, one can spot several of many different colors and sizes.

If one can't handle hiking, many desert flowers can be seen near the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitor's Center in Borrego Springs. There is a paved sidewalk and a lot of different species of flowers can be seen there during peak flower season. Flower season runs from about late January, peaking about mid-March to mid-April.

Here is the phone number to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park's Wildflower Hotline for updates:

(760)767-4684