Monday, January 21, 2013 (Ocotillo Wells SVRA, Borrego Springs, CA)

Another beautiful day...one of the warmest we have had lately...the thermometer (in the shade) went up to 74F/23C.  We had our usual start to the day and then did our exercises and showered. We thought that we would take a sightseeing drive into Borrego Springs today.

 It was about 11:00 when we headed out.  I took this picture as we left the camping area...yes, that's a big moving truck that the owner uses to transport his toys...apparently, he has also included a kitchen inside (we learned this from one of the park workers).

We turned off Highway 78 onto Borrego Springs Road...quite a deep gorge...

As we got closer to Borrego Springs, we came to Galleta Meadows..."a magical menagerie of freestanding life-size sculptures of creatures that roamed the valley millions of years ago, prehistoric dinosaurs that were never here, historical incidents and characters, desert wildlife, and imaginary creatures for pure whim. The gifts of visionary town benefactor Dennis Avery, the sculptures sit on his private parcels know as Galleta Meadows Estate and the estate is open to the public.  The sculptures, the first of which were installed in April, 2008, are easily accessible from Borrego Springs Road."

"Now numbering in the dozens, the creatures appear to be a natural part of the landscape and discovering them makes for a desert safari adventure.  The camels, sloths, llamas, wild horses, saber-tooth cats, mammoths, giant birds, wild pigs, sheep, raptors, and tortoises look very much at home.  Fossil discoveries reveal the vertebrates date from the Pliocene-Pleistocene, from one to five million years ago."
(Can you see Steve under the big elephant on the right?)

We stopped and walked up to a couple of them, however, most are way out in the desert with just a narrow dirt road to them, so we didn't want to drive the truck to them...it would be different if we  were able to ride the quads to them.

This is Christmas Circle...a huge traffic circle with a park and picnic area...a beautiful entrance into the community...

This is a cool old Ford that Steve couldn't resist taking a picture of...

After driving through town, we thought we would try to find Rockhouse Road...where Howard and Linda Payne (RV-Dreams) camped.  We plan on moving closer to Borrego Springs to take in some of the hiking in the area, plus we want better cell/mifi service.  We found the spot, but will not be going in too far off the highway since we lost service the further we went in.

We took another road on the way back into town...the mountains are just beautiful!

We passed these statues...not quite sure what it is...

Christmas Circle makes a lovely entrance into Borrego Springs...from every road into the town...

Another view towards downtown...the mountains make a lovely backdrop...

On our way home...

We were home shortly after 1:00 and after a bite to eat for lunch, Steve sat outside reading while I worked on our blog for yesterday...lots of pictures to upload.  It has really quieted down here in the camping area as most people have gone home after the long weekend...much more peaceful!