Out and about: from the desert to the sea

On our way to the desert, we stopped for Sunday-morning breakfast in Claremont, which remains much as I remember it back in the 1950s - a classic college town with great old houses and magnificent shade trees on campus and off. The town itself is pedestrian-oriented, with streets of independent book stores, shops and cafes. We ate at the 42nd Street Bagel. I'm sure Claremont has its newer areas with chain restaurants and shopping malls, but it was still nice to see how well they've kept up the community core.

Back on the road, Robin took pics (adding to her "drive-by shootings" series) as we cruised to the Coachella Valley, through the forest of eerie, futuristic windmills near Palm Springs, on past the palm groves of Indio, and the barren Salton Sea (beachfront homes, cheap!). Turning west on 78, we drove through the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area, which was a new experience for both of us. The place was swarming with bikers, roaring across the flats, into gullies, up ridges and dunes on both sides of the highway, kicking up a huge dustcloud visible for miles. Some of the kids looked to be no older than five or six. It was an amazing sight.


We arrived at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in mid-afternoon, and after a walk around the visitor center, we decided to spend the night at the nearby Palm Canyon Resort, in Borrego Springs. It was a western-themed motel and campground, with a general store, restaurant, and saloon, medium-priced and relaxed, just what we were looking for.

Our second-floor room had a balcony, where we sat back enjoying pale ales and a beautiful sunset before walking to dinner. After dinner, we took a romantic stroll out to gaze at the spectacular night sky before going to bed.

It rained during the night, and when we stepped out on our balcony in the morning, a rainbow arched over the mountains just to the west. A nice way to start off the day! Driving into town, looking for an interesting place to eat breakfast, we hit the jackpot: a tall "Eat" sign drew us to the Red Ocotillo, a World War II era Quonset hut with retro decor, a surprisingly varied menu, and excellent food.

Now fed and watered, we checked out the exhibits at the park visitor center, then set out on a three-hour hike, up the Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail.

The trail, up along a canyon stream, was not particularly steep, but it was rocky (with a few ledges to climb) and not always clearly defined - certainly the biggest hike we'd taken in quite a while. The canyon is known for big horn sheep that often come down to the trail, but the only sheep we saw were speck-sized, high up on a ridge. Just short of the oasis at the end of the trail, we encountered sprinkles, and with dark clouds gathering, we turned back. It was an excellent trek, just the kind of thing we always say we should do more often.

We'd planned to drive over the mountains to the Wild Animal Park near Escondido, but after winding up S22 (a hairpin turner with spectacular views) on the desert side of the mountains, we ran into heavy rain that didn't let up until we reached the coast. It was slow going, but we weren't in any rush, and the rain didn't stop Robin from snapping pics from the car as we meandered along through hilly country of farms, vineyards, and occasional cattle. Reaching Oceanside, we parked at the wharf for seafood and drinks at Joe's Crab Shack, where we watched the sun set in the ocean. A nice close to the weekend.

On a side note: Oceanside may be a nice town, but the military presence is palpable, and ominous. You can see it in the haircuts, flags, bumper-stickers, and marine corps decals - and on our way out of town, trying to get on the I-5 going north, we, with our bumper stickers of a different kind, twice found ourselves stuck in lanes bound for Camp Pendleton Only.