Posts Tagged ‘Anza-Borrego’
A camping trip
For most people, a camping trip is common place. Not for us. We are city people, having grown up and lived most of our lives in metropolitan areas. We know how to visit museums and eat at restaurants. We appreciate books and movies. We can even attend festivals – jazz, coffee. When it comes to life skills, it is summarized by our ability to hike a few miles and our ability to cook up a meal anywhere. Have we changed a car tire or pooped in the wild? No sir, but theoretically speaking, we knew how to. With that in our back pocket, we decided to go camping.
Most people camp in summers – the days are long and nights are warm. But we love the deserts. There is something romantic about deserts that no other place captures for us. Our last desert trip was Joshua Tree. And compared to that trip, we had Antarctic ready winter gear. This Thanksgiving, we decided to camp at Tamarisk Grove in Anza Borrego with a camping head start in Cuyama Badlands.
Read the rest of this entry »Winter camping in a desert park
Bow Willow Campsite at Anza-Borrego
It is raining cats and dogs today. Winters of Northern California typically bring cold rain and dark cloud covered skies. Good for water table but not good for the soul. My thoughts turn to Anza-Borrego desert state park, the largest of California’s state parks and a perfect escape from rain drenched winters. A couple of winters ago, we camped at the Bow Willow campgrounds. We are intermediate campers – we can do without the comfort of hot showers for a day or two but do need a chemical toilet. Bow Will was perfect – clear skies, not too cold, no bugs, hiking trails nearby.
I still remember that for dinner we had Trader Joe’s Lentil Rice Biryani heated on our camp stoves. Last night we had Chicken Biryani Dum Pukht style and while my Biryani is infinitely better on a culinary scale, there is something special about campside food. Is it the appetite built up from all day hiking, the fresh air enhancing the aroma of food, the effort of getting dinner ready in an unfamiliar setting, or sitting down for dinner without the TV?
Locomotoring 