Super Bloom hits Anza Borrego

With the epic amount of rain that we finally got for the first time in over 5 yrs here in Southern California, there was no question that we would be taking a trip to the desert to see the flowers.  The question was where…

We packed up the kids and headed to Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  We decided to head out on a Friday night (in traffic of course, this is LA) so we could stay near the park and avoid early crowds in case there was no parking. That paid off in spades because we were able to get up on Saturday morning, easily find parking, and go for a hike down Palm Canyon were there is a Palm Tree Oasis and water flowing from a spring.  It was amazing to see all the different flowers in bloom.

Next on the docket was lunch in our favorite town that has pie: Julian. Today’s choice was apple rhubarb.  Then we headed back to see the amazing 130 full-sized metal sculptures of artist and welder Ricardo Breceda.  The art installation is inspired by creatures that roamed this same desert millions of years ago. The artworks range from prehistoric mammals to historical characters, fanciful dinosaurs, and a 350-foot-long fanciful serpent.  Read more about it here.  These were not here the last time I visited the park, so it was an unexpected bonus for the day. And the kids were actually impressed by them too!

Anza Borrego, another thing I love about California.  It is a great place to take the family, and the Visitor Center is great too. Let’s hope it is not another 10 years before we go back to visit again.