A Playground For Boys

Day Thirty One

Anza Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in the United States.  It is over 600,000 acres and can be reached from the Coachella Valley by car in about an hour.

I was going to get an early start but those things don't always work out.  My son, Nick was having a such a great time with his friends riding bikes, building a fort, climbing trees and just doing what boys do, I hated to take him away.  After giving him a couple of hours of play time, I told him it was time to go.  I had him ask his friends if they wanted to go and two of them, Eddie and Tyler, got permission, so we headed off in the afternoon.

We stopped off at the Borrego Visitors Center before hitting our hike.  If you've never been there, the center has interesting exhibits on the history of the park and how native people managed to eke out a living in this hostile landscape.

We decided to hike up to the Borrego Palm Canyon Oasis.  This is the third largest oasis in the United States.

Indian Head Mountain

An Ocotillo

The Borrego Palm Oasis.  The water is flowing quite well down the streambed.

The boys spot a little frog and as we hike further we hear a serenade of chirps from the frogs in the canyon.

Nick and the boys looking for more frogs.  Notice Nick's water bottle on the rocks.  That was where he left it.

Steps along the trail.

A closer view of the oasis.

Could we possibly be any cooler?  I don't think so!

A big rock slide.

Follow the leader.

Crossing the creek.

Look what I found!

The boys said that this was their best hike EVER!  With big rocks, water, frogs, slides and sand what could possibly be better?  We love Borrego and can't wait to come again.  It's like a big playground in the wilderness.