Anza-Borrego State Park & Slab City

This is a continuation of previous post...

It was hard to pack up the next morning and say goodbye to the coast and Point Mugu, but we were heading to the desert and a new (to us) park! Anza-Borrego State Park had become very popular on the internet due to a "super bloom" resulting from the same rainy season that stopped us from seeing Big Sur. The time frame that we were going however landed after the bloom, and on the same day that the campgrounds transitioned to first-come-first-serve only. This was the only park that we didn't have a campsite reservation in advance, and with the growing popularity of this particular park, it made us a bit nervous. As soon as we arrived at Anza-Borrego we made our way straight to grab a campsite. Much to our surprise and confusion...we were the only ones there. We drove around to pick the best site, and it wasn't until we got out of our car for the first time that we realized why the campground was empty...it. was. hot!! The car read 100* and being out in the direct sun was pretty extreme. After doing what was needed to secure our site, we made our way to find a late lunch. The whole town started to feel a little like a ghost town the more we drove through it and meal options seemed limited. TripAdvisor to the rescue and we landed at the Red Ocotillo where we had the best lunch. Afterwards in the parking lot we starting talking with two women that informed us that the summer in Anza-Borrego could be the worst time to be visiting. They assured us that during any other season it is sheer paradise (they fell in love with it so much that they purchased a home there to escape the winter months), and for us to not make up our minds about the area until we try again in cooler weather. So learn from our mistake and take away this very valuable #meadadventures tip: Don't visit in the summer unless you want your flesh to melt off of your bones.

We had hours to pass until the sun started to set and needed a place with shade (something that our campsite did not offer much of). The visitor center had been passed up in our mission to find a campsite and that seemed like the best place to start. It resembled a little hidden bunker that was tucked under ground making it a perfect place to hide from the sun. Immediately when we approached its large wooden doors they swung open on their own (which felt very magical considering how hidden the whole place was to begin with), and the refreshing cold air conditioning almost knocked us down. I think for the first time since arriving to the park, we finally stopped sweating. We explored every inch of the visitor center to make the air conditioned experience last longer. We then walked a nature path behind the visitor center before heading back to camp. I'm about to blow your mind if you are an avid reader of this blog...it was so hot that we weren't even hungry for dinner. A few handfuls of trail mix would be enough for us and then tried our best not to move while we waited for the sun to go down. Darkness came but the temperature remained the same...even just laying still and reading was sweat-inducing. The heat was the only thing that allowed me to gather the courage to do something I never thought I would be able to do...sleep with no rainfly over the tent. (I have always felt like sleeping without the rainfly was basically like being a living art exhibit.) After waking up the next morning I was hooked on camping this way. To be able to wake up in the middle of the night, open your eyes, and see a sky full stars right above you was such an incredible experience! This was definitely another reminder to step out of my comfort zone more.

As soon as the sun came up we knew we had to move quickly to get in any exploring before it got too hot to exist again. I was feeling so good about myself for facing my fears the night before that I decided to keep the trend going and push myself once more. I think I really shocked Tommy when I told him that I wanted to do the Palm Canyon Trail. This was the exact hike that he mentioned the night before that I very quickly responded to him with a giant "NOPE". In my defense, this particular trail had signs warning for both rattlesnakes and mountain lions, and I'm just not okay with stumbling upon either of those. We hit the trail after packing up camp, and three miles later I was shown once again that facing my fears would be rewarded with the most incredible memories. Seriously, look at what was at the end of this hike....

I guess it goes without saying, but my next #meadadventures tip: If an experience isn't actually going to be putting your life at risk, go do it!! We all have things that terrify us, but if we let them win every time we will never find new things that we actually enjoy...or find an oasis in the middle of the desert. We made it back to the car before the real heat started to set in, and hit the road for a place that I had been wanting to see for a few years now...Salvation Mountain!

Salvation Mountain was absolutely everything that I had dreamed that it would be! We kept going up the road just a little to also drive through Slab City and that was such an incredible experience as well. I highly recommend researching both Leonard Knight and the whole community that makes up Slab City...especially if the iconic picture of Salvation Mountain is the only thing you know about the area. Our pictures are probably the best way to describe this portion of our trip, but really if you are going to be anywhere near here I would make this a detour. A very important #meadadventures tip: They are very serious about preserving their art. Read the signs and respect them or you will be confronted and they will make you leave. It didn't happen to us, but we did witness someone disregarding the signs to get a picture and what followed was not something I would want to experience. Be respectful, have fun, watch for bees, and enjoy this insanely unique place!

While we were playing around at Salvation Mountain I overheard some people talking about visiting a place called Bombay Beach. I had never even heard of it and thought nothing of it until we started seeing signs for it on our way to Joshua Tree. We already had a campsite waiting for us that night and on a whim made the impulse turn into Bombay Beach. Brief history lesson: this area used to be the hot spot for celebrities to vacation at in the 1940's and 50's until environmental conditions went awry and the area became pretty much an abandoned wasteland. There are a few hundred that actually call this place home, but if the Salton Sea ever dries up completely it could be a huge problem. The area itself smells of salt and dead fish and carries a very apocalyptic vibe, but it is a really cool sight to see and was even more fun to learn about.