Anza Borrego State Park

There are many reasons for RVers to love Anza Borrego State Park. Topping the list for us are scenery, weather, hiking, and free camping.

Relaxed at camp

A short trail off the camping area leads to several drainages with natural palm groves.

Hiking the palm canyon trails

We climbed the walls for a view from the top.

We had hiked this trail four years ago, but only managed to find two palm groves. This time, we persevered and found the drainage that leads to a much larger stand: Palm Bowl Grove.

Approaching Palm Bowl Grove

We counted 50 plus trees in this grove.

On Valentines Day we made our way to a nearby favourite destination, Agua Caliente County Park, where we enjoyed a relaxing day, soaking up the sun, the mineral water spa, and the pool. We brought our own picnic lunch so the total cost for a Valentines spa day was a whopping $6.00.

The indoor hot mineral pool

The outdoor mineral pool

The cold water swimming pool

We finished our day with a Valentines Day barbecue dinner back at camp.

Lamb chops, Caesar salad, and a bottle or red

Clouds at sunrise. Clouds have been rare on this trip.

The next day we moved to another favourite Anza Borrego camping area: Blair Valley. This location also holds special memories for us. It's where we camped nearly nine years ago with dear friends when they introduced us to this wonderful park for the first time.

Blair Valley Camp

Our view over Blair Valley

We hiked two trails from here: The Morteros Trail leads to several morteros (grinding stone depressions) where we could envision the Kumeyaay women busy with food preparation in this native village. The short trail offers splendid views of Little Blair Valley.

An ancient kitchen

Pictograph on the Morteros Trail

The also hiked the Pictograph Trail. The rock art is okay but not as spectacular as the view at the a pour-off at the end of the trail.

Along the Pictograph Trail

Ready for take-off...

Pretty well every hike and campsite in this sourthern part of Anza Borrego was a repeat from previous visits. We consciously chose them because we love them and were confident they'd be as rewarding as they were the first time. We weren't disappointed. But I must apologize to you, the reader, if you were expecting to read about new discoveries. Truthfully though, I'm a little too relaxed to care at the moment. You see, that's just a little side-effect of being on a Favourites Tour :-)

Days On The Road at time of writing: 37
Camping Costs To Date: $57.00

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