Anza Borrego Desert

[billie_morini]

Sometimes billie ventures into the desert. Long before he learned to surf, he was a desert rat. Times changed. But presently, he executes a contract for his employer for work located within the Anza Borrego Desert in southern central California. In fact, his work sites are about 8 miles north of Mexicali, Mexico. The Anza Borrego Desert is beautiful. Billie participated in meeting way down there last week. Here are some photos that may interest you.

[billie_morini]

There are many hundreds of square miles of small mountains consisting of decomposing sandstone. If you know where to look, then you can see wild bighorn sheep climbing about these mountains. Right about where this photo was made, you can place cellular phone calls through US and MEX networks. The bighorn sheep are unimpressed by this modern phenomena.

[billie_morini]

One lovely characteristic of U.S. deserts, is you will find interesting residences. I've encountered people living in caves, bread trucks, adobe houses, earth houses, missile silos, and more -- all far off the beaten path. Here is a house designed with architectural elements similar to the watch towers constructed by the Anasazi. The Anasazi were the ancient cliff dwellers prominent in the Four Corners region (e.g., what is now the four-way border between Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico). Anasazi probably did not live in very southern California / northern Mexico, but art and reality are not required to mimic one another.

[billie_morini]

You will often encounter the unexpected. Here, out in the middle of nowhere, we found a guy making little UFOs with saucers and golf carts. The guy actually lives in the camper (RV) in the background. His mobile home and quirky business are located along a little county road miles from nowhere. Again, this is one of the charms one encounters in the vast U.S. deserts.

[billie_morini]

If you wonder whether it gets hot out here, then the answer is a resounding, "Hell, yes!" Temps for 4 or more mid-year months, including Summer, run between 38C and 42C (100F to 107F). You quickly learn to prepare for severe Summer desert travel emergencies in a fashion not dissimilar to sever Winter travel in other regions. The air becomes so "thin" (e.g., hot and dry) at times that helicopters cannot land or take-off from the southern California desert and deserts in Nevada, Arizona, southern Utah, New Mexico, and west Texas. That's when the little UFOs in the previous photo are useful!

[RinkyDink]

One lovely characteristic of U.S. deserts, is you will find interesting residences. I've encountered people living in caves, bread trucks, adobe houses, earth houses, missile silos, and more -- all far off the beaten path. Here is a house designed with architectural elements similar to the watch towers constructed by the Anasazi. The Anasazi were the ancient cliff dwellers prominent in the Four Corners region (e.g., what is now the four-way border between Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico). Anasazi probably did not live in very southern California / northern Mexico, but art and reality are not required to mimic one another.

I've found some amazing places out in the desert, whole towns on occasion, just by getting on a dirt road and following it. In Baja I followed a dirt road across the desert and up to the top of the highest peak on the peninsula where there was a campground and an observatory. That was a long time ago. They may have paved the road by now. Anyway, it's fun to explore. I was in the Mojave Desert the other day, on my way to visit family, and I once again passed ZZYZX road. I almost followed my urge to follow that road to see what was out there, but my impulse to get back to the coast was too powerful. One of these day though, I'm going to see what's out there. Yeah, I know there's a Wiki for it, but I'm not reading it.