Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

After a week in and around San Diego, we were ready to put the traffic and hustle of the city behind us and head back to some wilderness. Luckily, a short two hours from the San Diego coast is an amazing park in the desert, Anza-Borrego.

Knowing that we would be arriving after dark, we decided to make a reservation at one of the parks campgrounds. It was a beautiful site with plenty of space for our rig as well as a tent site for Chris and Regina. The kids immediately grabbed flashlights and began exploring the dark desert while we set up camp. They had so much fun that they even added headlamps to their Christmas list. We wrapped up the day with a few cold beers and stories around the fire and sat in amazement at the starry sky above.

In the morning we hit the visitor center to get our bearings and check on road conditions. The kids always enjoy these educational stops and don’t even realize that they attending science class in the process. The big hit at this visitor center was the mountain lion perched on a boulder ready to pounce on its unknowing prey below. We also enjoyed the learning center where we all took part in the hands-on teaching opportunity.

With our updated info regarding current road conditions we headed out with a plan to camp in Plum Canyon and maybe sneak in a hike. However after setting up camp we quickly decided that the best plan was to open a bottle of wine and enjoy the desert afternoon. Sometimes you accomplish more by doing less. Today was one of those days and luckily we brought enough wine to make some great memories.

Marcy and Regina dancing around the campsite singing took me back to a childhood trip to Nova Scotia where my Mother, Uncle Tom and Aunt Sandy caught “Red Tide” after several bottles for wine. I hope my kids will have those same fond memories of their early travel adventures.

After a dinner of spaghetti and toasted garlic bread, all six of us settled into the van for a showing of The Lego Movie. Everything was awesome.

We awoke to a beautiful desert morning and like lizards chased the warmth of the morning sun from rock to rock as we ate breakfast. Then we headed to “the slot” for a hike in the appropriately named canyon. Once again the kids impressed all with their hiking ability.

Chris and Regina headed home following lunch at the Red Ocotillo and we turned the van towards Fonts Point where we enjoyed sunset overlooking the Badlands.

To wrap up a wonderful weekend we headed back to the town of Borrego Springs to catch the Patriots game on Sunday Night Football. Pats beat the Texans.