Our Blooming Desert Tour
March 8, 2009
Looking south, to the mountains of Mexico, with the Pacific fog bank that has yet to roll back to it's home along the coast.
(I wish the pic would look better. I'm lousy at psp)
A working ranch to the south of the 8, east of Live Oak Springs.
Horse ranch near Live Oak Springs
Looking south from the 8 somewhere between Boulevard and Campo
Happy California Cows
Farmlands north of Dulzura.
Boulders around the entrance to In-Koh-Pa Tower.
In behind the boulders, there lies a menagerie of critters painted on the rocks and boulders surrounding the back of the tower.
Maybe painted by kids?
I think there are pics at: roadsideamerica.com
In-Koh-Pa Desert Viewing Tower
For your viewing pleasure, picture windows overlook the desert to the east.
In-Ko-Pa is not a tribe's name. It refers to people who lived inland from San Diego's beaches.
There's a gift shop counter....
...not just postcards, and tourist stuff, but antiques. I bought some really kewl looking beads that they claimed had come from The Vatican. True or not, they're still kewl.
Cold sodas and coffee are available, and...
If you're visiting in the heat of summer heading east, godspeed to ya's!
We drove out on the 8 to Ocatillo and the State Road 2 exit (Imperial Highway). If you've driven to the Plaster City exit, you've gone too far.
I'll have to get a picture of Plaster City, lol.
There's a gypsum quarry west of El Centro, and Plaster City is turning it all into sheetrock, at Plaster City.
That's all it is.
A plaster/sheetrock factory. ugh.
It's always so dusty out there!
These pictures of ocatillos (oh' kah tee' yoh) do them no justice.
I'd love to add them along the side of our driveway.
This guy stood about 12 feet tall. I think the brilliant reds of their springtime blossoms had faded by the time we had an opportunity to see them.
Desert daisies and lupine.
Lupine and lil chollas (choy' yass) cacti.
The Borego Badlands.
At one time The Borego Badlands were under a 20 mile long sea of water.
desertusa.com video
Box Canyon Historical marker states:
The old way, variously known as Sonora Colorado
River or Southern Immigration Trail and later as
Butterfield overland Mail Route traversed Box
Canyon just east of here January 19, 1847. The Mormon
Battallion under command of Lt-Col. Philip St. G. Cooke
using hand tools hewed a passage through the
rocky walls of the narrow gorge for their wagons
and opened the first road into Southern California.
StateRegistered Landmark 472
Marker placed by San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the
Historical Markers Committee
Erected 1953
The Borrego Springs Nature Center has really grown since we were here last, and it's still...
FREE!
Volunteers and the Gift Shop keep this pretty kewl little place running.
Borego Springs Gift Shop
Looking east from the Borrego Springs Nature Center.
LUNCH!
Mountain lion on display in the Nature Center.
Are those gorgeous eyes or what?
Desert fox display...speaking of gorgeous. hmmhmmhmm.
The nature center's garden.
Partial view of the overlook bridge at the Nature Center.
Such a kewl design. The Center and restrooms are beneath the rock bridge.
A patch of green wildflowers at the Nature Center.
Heading up into the mountains from Borrego Springs.....
Don't ya just love what springtime does for the desert?
State Road 22 must have at least been as kewl as Turnbull for race-man to drive.
As straight up and down as it gets for a road,
with 180 degree turns,
and me...
waaaay skeerd to look DOWN!
at least we were on the inside lane.
:D
The view from the top of the hill, looking down onto Borrego Springs
In the far background, is the Chocolate Mountain Range.
Below the range you can see the Salton Sea.
Motorcyclists were out in FULL force on this fine spring morning.
Ah, to be young again.
State Road 22's ROCKY Mountains.
Yep, this must be the State Road 2 sign.
(Happy California Curdly Cows Country)
From agriculture to the stars ... San Diego has it all.
(The dome on top of the mountain is Cal Tech's:
Mount Palomar Observatory
...still chasing distant Palomar pics.
Hey girls!
A dairy just north of Santa Ysabella.
A farm between Santa Ysabella and Julian.
Welcome to Julian!
There is so much to do and see here, and I only have a few pictures to share. It's a community that was founded by a black gold miner in the 1800's.
Yes, there are gold mines here, and lots of old houses are still around,
in spite of pesky fires...
...and lots of pine trees,
ander there's still gold today, in them there hills:
Apple Trees...
The Julian Pie Company
Mom's Apple Pies
Coming Out Your Ears Pies.
Julian supplies fresh baked pies all around San Diego county
...but there just not as good, as a fresh-from-the-oven, warm...
apple pie in Julian
early on a chilly morning,
and San Diegans drive for miles around, just for that pleasure.
We opten to not lunch Julian today. It was after 9AM on a nice Sunday, and San Diegans had already jam-packed themselves into the 3 or 4 blocks of the main street.
Quite an extensive list about Julian:
Around and About Julian
The Julian Market & Deli
- Has picnic supplies, food to go, produce, and their butcher counter offers a huge variety fresh and frozen home-made sausages.
Motorcycle man has already had his pie and looks like he's heading home!
Julian's town hall.
The town hall is often a-bustle for quilt shows, Christmas Craft Fairs, and town meetings, plays and voting.
The Julian Mall, lol.
(No elevators or escalators.)
A farmer's burning chores, just south of Julian.
the east end of Lake Cuyamaca.
The 2003 fires took so many San Diego fire fighters not only to Los Angeles, but to many areas around San Diego.
Many fire fighters came from this hillside overlooking Lake Cuyamaca.
The had left their homes, to bravely fight to protect so many of our homes
only to return to find they'd lost their own.
This hill had once been a forest of trees and homes:
Lake Cuyamaca is maybe a half-hour from our house. There is plenty of fishing action goes on here, including fishing lessons, early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I know the lake is stocked with trout. (The restaurant serves trout...catch/clean/cook your own, or ask your waitress to hold the lemon, salt and pepper, and ask for extra butter.
Lake Cuyamaca
Oh yeah. Look.
A Porch on Lake Cuyamaca.
I reserve the right to post that title. Of all the places my sailor's visited around the world, invariably, he'd return with pictures of... no...
not the 7 Seas.
not the 7 wonders.
...but with pictures of cars!
:P
The Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant.
We've been there a few times over the years, mostly for Sunday brunch. They serve plain old American food, too, but it seems Sundays are reserved for Die Deutschen. They play oom pah pah music, and serve German Potato salad, and a variety of German/Austrian/Tyrolean fare.
Try to get there early on a summer's morning, sit with breakfast out on the deck, overlooking the lake.
There's also a picnic area in the pine trees next to the lake, too.
One of the cute little cottages, just north of Descanso.
A Descanso ranch (Viejas Road at the 79).
There's a little veggie/fruit/flowers stand at the corner.
I think it's called Pamela's.
Merigan Ranch.
(This really lousy pic will be replace by a much better one, soon.)
The Merigan Ranch is a working ranch, that includes anything and everything to do with horses. They do have cattle out to pasture too, and we've seen gorgeous wild turkeys, too, in the fall.
The Merigans have put on great functions at the Ranch. One summer, they had BBQ dinners along with John Wayne movies in the barn.
Giddyup! ;)
They've held Vaqueros Days there, with Cowboy Poets, Storytellers, and singing. Chuck Wagon BBQs. Horsemanship and roping skills.
Arts & Crafts in the hay barn.
and the Anniversary of the Jackass Mail Ride. (the old, original San Antonio - San Diego run)
The list goes on. and...
Celeste (what a lovely name!) writes articles from the ranch for the Alpine Sun.
Crossing the bridge over the creek, Riverside Drive near Viejas Road.
They've torn down the old bridge and are putting up a fancy new modern thing.
Dagnabbit!
Descanso Trading Post
Highway 79 @ Riverside Drive.
The Antique Cottage at Descanso Junction
On the road again, lol.
We're back on the road again (the 8 west) and heading home.
I'm liking Sunday drives, sailor! ;)
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