And then, absolutely nothing happened.

Early this morning, Tommy and Kathy packed it up for points north.   They have an engagement in the area of Long Beach.   Eleanor woke up with some coughing leftover from the cold, and the sky had a thin overcast which took away the warm sun, so it felt like a winter day for the first time.

This time of year there are few scheduled events in the park.   There was one ranger talk scheduled for 2:00 pm, but nobody showed up except me (not even the ranger!).   We went for a bike ride around the campground, took a couple of walks, and practiced ukulele all afternoon.   Eleanor stayed in and worked on craft projects.   In short, a quiet day.

That’s probably good.   On Tuesday we are expecting a few Airstream folks to join us and things will probably get a lot busier.   For them, I will provide a few tips for camping this week in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

1. Eat Mexican food downtown.   There are a couple of restaurants but we prefer the one right on main street.   It’s inexpensive, good, and casual.
2. Plan on at least one day on the backroads and offroad, if you can.   That’s where the park gets really interesting.   Even with a small car you can explore some of the “off-road” spots. Ask a ranger for tips and buy the $1 map in the Visitor Center.
3. Catch some history.   I know history is not everyone’s area of interest, but this place has geologic history (volcanoes, inland seas, etc), evolutionary history (mammoths and dinosaurs), and human history (Juan de Anza, Marshal South, Peg Leg Smith).   It’s all interesting.   I can specifically recommend the film on Marshal South in the Visitor Center. His “experiment” in living off the land with his family in Anza-Borrego back in the   1930s is fascinating story which deserves to be better known.
4. Take an early hike.   Early in the morning is when you’re likely to see the bighorn sheep in Palm Canyon, and by mid-day you can stop for lunch at a palm tree oasis. There are also petroglyphs to be found in a few places.
5. Bring something to do in the long dark evenings.   A book, a movie, a game, a telescope, a musical instrument, or a pile of firewood.   While the stars are beautiful here, it’s also cold enough that you won’t be outside after dark without a hat and a warm jacket, or a good warm camp fire.