My California - Anza Borrego

derekrichardson (67)adminin SoCal Steemit • last year

For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @socalsteemit I headed out for a camping trip in...

Anza Borrego!!

Last week my two cousins and I headed out to the desert for a camping trip in Anza Borrego. We wanted to get way out somewhere where it would be really dark so we could see the comet that has been passing by. Anza Borrego is a bit of a long drive, but it was the perfect spot. When we got there we first headed over to the visitors center where we talked to the ranger there. He must have been having a bad day because he was quite rude to us, but he did give us a suggestion for a good place to camp. It took a little more driving up a windy road into the mountains, but soon enough we arrived at the Culp Valley primitive campground. It was perfect. Nice spots to camp, fire rings, beautiful desert mountain scenery, and most importantly wide open skies! We picked out a spot and setup our camp, split some wood for our campfire, and got my telescope out and setup. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon hiking around the area, checking out all the rock formations and all the different cacti and other desert plants, and checking out some nice views overlooking Borrego Springs.

Arriving at Culp Valley

Setting up camp

Informational sign

Bird nest in a Cholla cactus

Splitting some wood for our campfire

My telescope setup and ready to go

Exploring the area

Climbing on the rocks

Desert mountain scenery

Overlooking Borrego Springs

There was lots and lots of Cholla cacti

Coming back into Culp Valley

We got back to camp just after the sun set behind the mountains and so we got the campfire going, cracked a few beers, and cooked up some food. My cousins love camping just like me and we always have a great time when we get out in nature together. As it got dark we started looking for the comet, but at first the moon was still up in the sky, making it too bright. But after the moon dropped down behind the mountains the sky got darker and we were able to see a bunch more stars and eventually we found the comet!

The next day we woke up and packed up camp and headed back home. Ending another fun adventure. Unfortunately we only had time for one night. I haven't done much exploring in Anza Borrego (this is only my third time ever going there) and I know for a fact that there is a lot more cool stuff out there. So we'll definitely have to go back sometime!