(Click on picture to enlarge it)“Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present, you will never find it” (Thomas Merton – Monk)
After spending three wonderful days at the “Fountain of Youth Spa” we headed south to Brawley on HWY 111, then northwest to Anza Borrego State Park. We really wanted to stop and see "Salvation Mountain", which is now a national monument located in Slab City (CA), but the road was closed because of the big rainfall the night before we left. This state park is the largest in California. The park is named after Spanish explorer Juan Baustista deAnza and the Spanish name “Borrego” which means Big Horn Sheep. Borrego Palm Canyon is the third largest natural palm oasis in California. It is a beautiful, well-watered oasis, tucked away in a rocky V-shaped gorge. The hike into the palm grove is about 3 miles and there are over 800 palms in the canyon. Although were did not see any Big Horn Sheep, it is a very popular hike to view them perched high above the canyon floor on the rocky cliff shelves. We did see many ocotillo cactus and several other types, which were just starting to bloom. Here, is where we both discovered Arizona “Lavender” and its wonderful fragrance.
The campsites are very primitive and spread out, with water and power provided. The first nights stay in the park was pretty stormy, with very high winds. We hiked the canyon on the 2nd day and the weather was spectacular. We highly recommend a visit here, especially when the cactus are just starting to bloom.
CLICK HERE to see our pictures of the canyon and take the hike with us to the Palm Grove. The creek that we followed up the canyon was still very full of water. We had to cross it on four different occasions, without any foot bridges.
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