We departed our vehicle in the heart of Anza-Borrego park. We headed for a walk to observe some of the local flora and fauna. The sun was absolutely brutal and it didn’t take long for the severity of the heat warning to become clear. We walked through the different breeds of succulents and desert plants. A large caterpillar crawled by in the desert sun as the heat was beginning to become cumbersome. We headed off to find a more appropriate activity in the desert furnace.
Sky Art in the Sand.
We drove north out of Borrego Springs before turning off of the road and directly into the desert. We headed over dunes and around little brush covered outcrops. Out of the distance slowly growing on the horizon was a rust tinged object. It grew larger and clearer as we approached and it suddenly become obvious as to what it was. A giant iron scorpion poised to strike sitting next to his grasshopper prey in the middle of the desert. We took a few minutes to get a closer look before continuing deeper into the wilderness.
One after another they appeared out of the barren landscape. saber tooth cats, warthogs, mammoths, eagles and even prehistoric monsters like allosaurus and velociraptors seemed to continually populate the desert in all directions.
After an hour of exploring we came across the most amazing of the sculptures. An impressive sand dragon that seemed to slither through the earth like water. I’ve had the privilege to find dragons both in sculptures and structures all over the world. In Asia they’re iconography is everywhere from bridges to billboards, but this was impressive. An iron structure not unlike dragon bridge in Da Nang, but built in a more classical style and for the sole purpose of art. It was magnificently impressive. The Dragon’s deep rust color really gave the structure a powerful presence in the barren landscape.
After we left the Dragon behind more sculptures continued to come into view. At one point we reached an area with younger sculptures. They still gleamed with some silver hues as they had not yet been weathered to the rusty reds of oxidation. Again we pressed on and again more sculptures. The desert seemed to be endlessly filled with them. For hours we combed the desert finding as many as we could before finally reaching pavement. We turned on to a state highway and headed further into the desert.
A Slot Canyon
After an easy drive from the sky art sculptures of Anza-Borrego we reached the entrance to one of the run off canyons in the valley. In a rocky, sandy, truly barren landscape sits the efforts of thousands of years of erosion by water. It doesn’t rain much here in the desert. When it does the rain has nowhere to go and causes massive canyons to become carved from the limestone rock. Like a deep wound in the earth eroding ever deeper with time.
We parked the car and began our decent down into the canyon. As we began the trek the canyon started small and slowly began to deepen and opened up. Like a truly alien world it began to resemble something in a Star Trek episode more than something in Southern California. Steep vertical cliffs began to rise high on our flanks and it was obvious that at times the area could become violent with water. Collapsed sections of the cliff walls laid across parts of the canyon like ancient pillars from a bygone civilization. We strolled further into the canyon than most places that day as the canyon offered more opportunity for shade. After a couple of hours we made it back to the car and headed west.
Imperial Beach and the Edge of America
As we headed west up out of the desert valley the landscape slowly reverted to what it began as. Shrubs and desert plants became evergreens and palm trees as we made our way to the edge of California, Imperial beach. The furthest south you can go in California before crossing into Mexico. We made it to the end of the road and walked south. The beach I was surprise to find devoid of any and everyone. A few military choppers patrolled the boarder but other than that there was nothing.
The Tijuana river empties into the pacific between San Diego and Tijuana in an estuary that separates the two cities. We could see Tijuana up the hills across the estuary but there was very little activity here. I was a little sad to find that there was a swim warning here due to polluted water and that was why the beach was empty. I was further disappointed when I found out why. Apparently Tijuana has a very crappy, pun intended, sewage treatment facility. It is often inoperative and the local authorities solution is to dump the raw sewage straight into the river and out to sea. What results is, depending on currents and weather, an imperial beach and estuary often to polluted with raw sewage to be used.
I understand that not everyone lives to the same standards around the world. But I feel that surely a country could do something about it if it affects them. It’s a sad lesson to ponder as we walk the empty Imperial beach, the southern most beach in California.
