Borrego Springs (2/11/2018) & The Slot (2/13/2018)

Borrego Springs is the main town in the Anza-Borrego Desert and is surrounded by the 600,000 acre State Park.  Less than 5000 people live here, some permanent and some seasonally, such as personnel for the park headquarters.  Designated an International Dark Sky area, it is a popular spot for astronomers.  To maintain that status, there are no streetlights or traffic lights in town, and minimal lighting overall.  At the center of town is a traffic roundabout known as Christmas Circle, which contains a park, picnic area and a WIFI hotspot.  The latter is helpful for the many people who "dry camp" all over the desert or in state park campgrounds.  Just outside town, a canyon oasis has a grove of rare California fan palms.  Desert bighorn sheep that frequent the spring there gave the town its name, since borrego is Spanish for "little lamb". With tourism as the only reason for having a town here, there are numerous places to stay in addition to unlimited camping.

The day I visited was the day after high winds, so it was no surprise to see the air full of sand.

More recently, the town's claim to fame is due to the Galleta Meadows sculptures, created by sculptor/welder Ricardo Breceda.  He was commissioned by the property owner to create more than 130 metal figures scattered all over town.  It has become a game for tourists to locate all of the figures located among the desert's vegetation.  Maps are available, but I found enough for my purposes just by driving around.  The action-oriented figures include horses, African animals, prehistoric birds and dinosaurs, but the most spectacular is a 350 foot sea serpent that even crosses the highway.  The head of that serpent is more than twenty feet tall.

While photographing some sculptures, I noticed a bird fly up from underneath a giant sabre-toothed tiger and perch on a nearby ocotillo plant.  It was one of my favorites, an American kestrel with a mouse or vole in its talons.  Normally, it's very difficult to approach these birds, the smallest member of the Falcon family.  However, I got fairly close this time, probably because the bird was busy having dinner.

Back in camp that evening, storm clouds help create an unusual sunset.

After a day off due to more wind and intermittent sprinkles throughout the day, I did more desert driving in a few of the countless washes through the many canyons here.  One such trail led to a slot canyon identified simply as "The Slot".  Since it appears there are many slot canyons in the park, it isn't clear why this one has been singled out that way.  At any rate, the hike through this one starts out going steeply down a hill, then gradually enters the narrow canyon.  Although it is mostly sandstone, it isn't the colorful rock I'm used to in AZ and UT slots.  There isn't much reflected light, either.  The canyon does get very tight in places, especially for us plus sizes.

 A slab of rock has broken off and now rests on the opposite wall.  Also, an arch and a few boulders can be seen overhead.

The "badlands" that surround The Slot have a trail that leads to the back door of the canyon, thus making a loop hike of about 3.5 miles.  I just went through the slot, then backtracked the way I had come.  Two Swiss men who arrived the same time I did had been there several times before.  They took the outer trail.  One of them had a guitar, saying they enjoyed music in the canyon.