Anza-Borrego Part 2 — Fun in the Sun!
March 1, 2019.
We slept well through the night — my only complaint really being that at 55º-60ºF, it was too warm and I woke up a bit sweaty somewhere around 2:00am. It was a simple enough fix to remove one of the comforters from my side, and I quickly fell back asleep until my sunrise alarm went off way too early.
I wasn’t sure exactly when sunrise was going to be, so I’d set the alarm for 5:15am. Turns out that 5:45am would have been a better time to catch the morning color. Perhaps a bit out of character, @mrs.turbodb was keen to see sunrise over the badlands as well, so as she got dressed, I took a few photos around camp.
It was a beautiful morning.
The pinks and purples of the desert sky always catch me off guard, and this morning was no exception. As we walked the last half-mile to the Vista del Mal Pais, we marveled at the marbling above us — knowing that by the time we reached the overlook, it’d be but a memory — the sun’s movement too quick in situations such as these.
Not that we had anything to complain about when we reached our destination. The badlands stretched far and wide in front of us. Kept company by the owner of the 1st gen Tacoma who’d parked at the end of the road, we spent a good half hour or more just enjoying the view as the sky got gradually brighter — all of us with our cameras at the ready, not wanting to miss a moment.
The rising sun also gave us our first good glimpse of what would become a theme for the trip: wildflowers! While not technically a super-bloom, the desert was alive with color. Purples, whites, yellows, and reds topped off a blanket of green that shows itself only fleetingly each year.
Eventually it was time to head back to camp for breakfast — we had a long day ahead of us and I had a couple things I wanted to do in camp before we got underway. The first was to adjust the spare tire on the rear swing-arm. I’d installed it before leaving home — as always — but as we’d tried to mount the Trasharoo the day before, I noticed that the tire was sucked up against the swing-out. I quickly realized that this was due to the increased backspacing — 4.5" instead of the 3.5" on my SCS Stealth6’s — on the new-to-me 4Runner wheels that I was sporting for the first time on this trip in an effort to reduce mud fling. The great thing about the @cbi offroad fab spare tire mount is that it’s easily adjustable — so I zipped off the three lug nuts holding the tire on and moved the mount an inch away from the swing-arm. Five minutes, and I was done.
Next, I wanted to switch up the rain fly on the CVT Mt. Shasta. As I’ve mentioned, I really dislike the stargazer windows because they take a long time to dry when they get wet. So I worked with Bobby over at @cascadia tents to get a new fly without the windows (something that new versions of the tent apparently come with now), and this was the perfect time to get it installed. I removed the old one, got the poles in the new one, and was just getting it secured to the corners of the tent when @mrs.turbodb said, “Umm, I don’t think you got the right fly.” Turns out I’d been sent a fly for an extended series tent and sure enough, it wasn’t going to work on my standard series.
That didn’t make me super happy, and I grumbled as I re-installed the old fly. Luckily for me, a tasty breakfast of cereal and blueberries had been prepared and helped to raise my spirits once again. Plus, I have no doubt that Bobby will make this right — it’ll just have to wait for a future trip!
Soon, we were ready to go, and we headed down Shorty Wash towards Arroyo Salado to see what the day had in store.
The sandy washes were fun to drive in and we made reasonably good time except for me stopping every couple minutes to take pictures. But really, how could anyone resist — the sun was out and the weather was a far cry better than the snow we’d left in Washington!
Now, we were on Arroyo Salado for a very specific purpose — I wanted to see a couple of landmarks along the route. Specifically, I wanted to see 17 Palms, 5 Palms, and Una Palma. Turns out that the first two wouldn’t be an issue, but Una Palma is… well… Sin Palma at the moment.
It wasn’t long before we rolled up to 17 Palms and got out to explore. As is the case with most good folks who stumble across these oasis in the desert, we assumed that we’d find both shade and water as we neared the California Fan Palms. As it turns out — like many before us — the second half of that assumption turned out to be incorrect.
Still, it was a sight to behold, and @mrs.turbodb was quick to wander over and start counting the twenty-seven palms that made up 17 Palms spring!
We explored a bit, finding a post of bottle caps and a hidden mailbox stuffed with guest books, which we gladly signed before making our retreat back to the truck.
Even as we left the spring, the spring season was apparent all around us — even the driest cracked desert floor teaming with life — small succulents pushing through and making themselves known.
Windows down and fan blowing in the truck, we were back in the wash — winding our way in and out of the mud/sand mounds that made up this badland-y area. A fun and beautiful landscape to drive — new colorful views around nearly every corner. And it wasn’t long before we found ourselves approaching 5 Palms — the tops of the trees visible a few hills away. As we approached, @mrs.turbodb educated me a bit on the trees themselves — turns out that California Fan Palms are the only palm native to the Western United States, and are “left over” from a tropical climate in the Miocene era, some 8 to 20 million years ago! (see Anza-Borrego A to Z: People, Places, and Things by Diana Lindsay)
Naturally, we spent some more time exploring 5 Palms. Or, at this moment, 4 (+1 dead) Palms.
From here, we had a choice — we could head back to pavement the way we’d come the previous evening, or we could venture along some dirt roads to see what they had in store. OK, it wasn’t much of a choice really — we were taking the dirt less traveled — so we ventured south on Thule Wash in search of a strange sounding landmark: The Pumpkin Patch.
When we arrived, there couldn’t have been a better description for what we saw. There, strewn across the ground were hundreds of stone pumpkins. Not actually, of course — but it sure looked strange.
If you’re curious — and you know you are — check out the rest of the story at Anza-Borrego Part 2 — Fun in the Sun! on adventuretaco.com
