Mountain Palms Oasis at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

After a few days in the urban jungle of San Diego, it was off to Mountain Palm Springs Oasis in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Located about 2 hours east of San Diego, this is the state park where we spent several weeks during the winter of 2010. So, if these pictures seem familiar, that's why. In fact, we decided to disperse camp at our favorite site from that trip, which is at Mountain Palm Springs.

Mountain Palms Springs Oasis is located just off the Imperial Highway that cuts up from I-8 at Ocotillo and heads north to Borrego Springs. It's pretty close to the border, so there's lots of Border Patrol activity in the area, including a checkpoint and helicopters that fly over head. But, most of the aliens we encountered were Canadians who camp out in the desert all winter before heading back north in summer.

We set up our little tent city and enjoyed several beautiful sunny and warm days in the desert. The mornings were chilly, but nothing a little campfire of some dead creosote bush and chollas can't fix. We took Hello Kitty and Sophie with us, and Kitty was just find wandering around the campsite. We had a long line for her, but she got tangled up so often, we finally gave up on it. She never ventured more than about 50 feet away, but we always had someone assigned to keep an eye on her so she didn't get lost or become coyote food.

From the camping area, there are two palm groves that are visible about 1/2 mile away. These California fan palms are relicts of the Ice Age when they were distributed all across Southern California and Arizona. But, with the warming and drying of the region, they are now limited to just 153 distinct groves, each containing just a few to a few dozen individuals.

One morning I hiked up to the northern grove, the one we went to on our previous visit. It was that previous visit where I decided to climb up onto the ridge above the grove and peek around and noticed another grove in the next valley over. However, I did not descend the ridge into that grove that time, so I decided to do it this time and see if I could make a loop out of the hike.

Bunches of palm fruits hanging down

What I noticed in this second grove was that many of the palms had plumes of fruit hanging down. I read at Joshua Tree that these fruit were really important to the native peoples of the area because it was one of the only sources of sugar in the desert. The birds certainly love them, as they are all over these groves (the available water in the desert is also the key). So, I decided I needed to try them. First I grabbed a large fallen palm frond to try and smack a bunch off the tree. But, it was not quite large enough. So, I resorted to throwing rocks. Eventually I hit the clump and a bunch of the tiny fruits fell to the ground. Maybe it was late in the season and they had started to dry out, but there isn't much flesh on them. It's like a slightly sweet layer of leather over a large nut.

Coyote scat consisting of almost nothing but palm fruits

From this grove, I decided to start walking up the ravine, where I quickly encountered another grove. From there I spotted the tops of two more palms above the rocks, so I continued up the wash and found those two. At this stage the wash entered a deep narrow canyon. I continued up past the shady canyon and into a large open amphitheater at the base of the mountains. It was there that I found the motherlode.

Look back at the north grove from the ridgetop before I began my explorations

There was an old faded sign that called this the "Palm Bowl Grove" and there must have been well over 100 mature palms in the grove. In the middle of the grove was a large mound of deposits where the spring at the base of the mountain has flowed for millenia despositing sediments and evaporites (like calcium carbonate). No water was present on the surface (but the ground was moist), but it appeared based on the shape of the mound as though it must have flowed more vigorously in wetter times.

A sample of the Palm Bowl Gove with the sediment mounds in front

During our stay at Anza Borrego Desert State Park, we also made a return trip to Agua Caliente County Park to soak in the hot springs. You can read about what I wrote about that in 2010 here: http://www.taylorlenz.com/2010/03/agua-caliente-county-park-in-anza.html

Hilina and Linda hiking down Moonlight Canyon

But, instead of carrying Hilina on my back for the Moonlight Canyon Hike, she was able to do the entire loop this time! My final post of this series will be a hike description for Garnet Peak in the Laguna Mountains nearly 6000 feet above where we were camping. That'll be posted over at the Hikemasters site in the coming days.

A view out to Whale Peak from Agua Caliente County Park

Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego County

Torrey Pines State Reserve, just north of La Jolla, is home to the rarest pine tree on the planet. The Torrey pine exists at only two places on the planet, in this small reserve on a hilltop above the sea and in a grove on Santa Rosa Island, 175 miles away, in the Channel Islands.

Scientists hypothesize that the pine was probably much more common during the Ice Age, with a range all up and down the Southern California Coast. As conditions warmed and dried out, they disappeared from everywhere except these two groves. They are dependent on coastal fogs for much of their moisture, and as such, have very long needles to catch the fog droplets and direct them down to the ground. Their closest relatives genetically are down in central Mexico.

Torrey Pines State Reserve sits on a highly eroded hillside of weak sandstones. Where no trees grow, coastal sage scrub and head-high chapparral shrub grows. It is a heavily visited site with lots of hikers on its short trails across the hilltop and down to the beach. There is a nice visitor center that discusses the natural history of not just the trees, but the animals and other plants who live in the area.

As you head out onto the trails in the reserve, panoramic views of the coast and ocean. Many people drive up the hill to the visitor center, but if you park in the lower lot near the beach, then you can walk up the hill and do a loop across the reserve.

The salty air and warm sunshine make this a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. As you approach the steep cliffs above the beach, there is only one way down. The other side trails that take you to the panoramic overlooks site precariously on the edge. Even the official way down is slick and steep.

But, once you are on the beach, then it is miles of sandy comfort on your feet and waves crashing offshore. The walk back to the lower parking lot is quite easy and enjoyable if the tide is low or the wave action is not too rough.

San Diego Zoo and Birch Aquarium at Scripps

We have a tradition every year with Hilina that around Christmas time, as an early birthday present, we take her to the zoo or aquarium. Being in San Diego for the holidays gave us a chance to go the world famous San Diego Zoo, as well as, the Birch Aquarium of Scripps Oceanographic Institute on the campus of UC San Diego.

The Birch Aquarium is almost your perfect aquarium because when they are enormous, you can get exhausted and start to lose interest in the exhibits. In addition, sometimes aquariums try to include too many fish, too many regions of the world, and they lose their theme. Birch Aquarium is a nice moderate size and focuses most of its exhibits on the Pacific Coast, going gradually from the Pacific Northwest down to San Diego, and then along the Mexican coast to the subtropical waters and coral reefs.

The view from Scripps is also spectacular as you can look out across La Jolla and then spot gray whales spouting out in the Pacific Ocean.

The San Diego Zoo has some wonderful exhibits of course, as well as, a number of rare and endangered species I had never seen before. But, it is huge and downright exhausting if you want to see everything. In addition, the San Diego Zoo is very expensive. It's not just the $42 admission price either. It is a money sucking machine. Everywhere you turn, there is some way they will try and suck out your cash. Need a stroller for your little 3-year who is getting tired walking? $10 rental fee. Finally made it to the far end of the zoo and need to take the skyride back? $4 each. Want a soda? $6.75. Bottle of water? Only $3.25.

The flamingoes were one of Hilina's favorite

But, the San Diego Zoo does have some unique species hard to find elsewhere. The Giant Pandas are there of course, as well as, Bornean bearcats, koalas, and Linda's personal favorite the gorillas.

Hilina loved to the polar bear exhibit, but seemed to love the sea ice exhibits even more.

The koalas don't do much and because they have the lower metabolisms as marsupials, they all had heat lamps above their names.

Mission Beach and Old Town San Diego

A Heerman's Gull and three Brown Pelicans on Mission Bay

While in San Diego, we stayed at the Best Western Mission Bay, which is located just across the freeway from Mission Bay Park. It was a nice place to go for evening and morning walks. It's very popular with runners and bikers. The most unfortunate thing was that they have a rule banning dogs from 9am to 4pm. So, I'd have to wait until nearly sunset to take Sophie for a walk after she'd been in the truck all day.

We had planned to hit the San Diego Zoo and Birch Aquarium as part of our tradition of taking Hilina to the zoo every year around Christmas time for her pre-birthday. We decided against Sea World in order to keep it more natural and educational and less touristy and corporate. But, we soon found out that the San Diego Zoo has certainly found its ways to suck your wallet dry. But, that is a story for another day.

The pier at Mission Beach

But, being so close to the beach allowed us a chance to take Hilina there every day. She just absolutely loves the beach, playing in the sand and in the waves. If we lived in Hawaii, there is no doubt she'd become a beach bummer or surfer girl.

View of the Mission Beach community from the pier

We enjoyed two lovely dinners on the beach, walked the boardwalk, and enjoyed sunsets on the water. If condos there didn't go for $900,000 a pop, it might be a nice play to live.

The waves weren't huge, but there were dozens of surfers out on the water trying to catch a wave. A few got a good swell and rode it into shore. Most just bobbed up and down for a while.

One place I had not initially had on agenda, but we found out about was Old Town San Diego State Park. Located just north of downtown, this area was the original site of the city of San Diego. It lay on the shores of the San Diego River, where it flowed into San Diego Bay. Its site was established at the base of the hill where the Spanish military fort stood (The presidio) in 1769. By 1834, the Spanish government granted San Diego the status of a "pueblo"

Eventually, due to declining population and the inconvenience of its distance to a port for large ships, the city was essentially moved to "New Town" located where present day Downtown San Diego sits today. Gradually old town declined as the city grew further south. In 1968, the Old Town was set aside as Old Town San Diego State Park. The state restored and preserved a number of buildings dating from 1820-1870. The park intreprets the history and lives of the Spanish, Mexicans, Californios, and American settlers who created a city of mixed cultures and influences.

In the main visitor center, there is a model of what Old Town looked like in the mid-1800's. The entire state park is free, including all of the museums and shops. Several shops along the way sell nostalgic and psuedo-old items (including a cigar shop, coffee house, and candy shop). But, they are done in such as way as to represent the merchants of the era.

One of the best buildings in the complex is the Casa de Estudillo, which was a villa owned by Estudillo family dating back to 1827. The home became world famous by being featured in Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. In fact, it is very likely that this book created the incentive to preserve this and other associated structures from demolition that allowed the state park to be created 80 years later.

Another building in the complex that is fascinating is the Seeley Stables. These stables contain old wagons used for a variety of purposes including mail trucks, farming, stagecoaches, and just about any other use of the era. They have some of the best preserved examples of these wagons still in existance. The stables also tell of the life of the stable keepers, usually young boys who job it was to tend the horses and prepare them for travel and transport.

Apparently Old Town San Diego is the most visited park in the California State Park system. But, we couldn't really tell that while we were there. So, if you ever get over to San Diego, this is definitely a worthy destination. Especially if you want to get away from the kitsch and corporatism of Sea World and get a little bit of the early history of the area.