Anza Borrego



Rock House Road Camp Spot

After spending two weeks at Annette’s sister’s house in Banning, CA installing solar panels, we headed down to the Anza Borrego Desert. We found a great boondocking spot off Rockhouse Road and ended up staying in the area for a month. This is the desert and the camping area sits in full sun so the solar panels worked great keeping us charged even given the low arc of the winter sun across the sky, falling to about 95% by evening and then back up to 100% after just a few hours of sunlight in the morning. Solar power and boondocking have a relationship similar to soup and sandwich—better when enjoyed together. Another housekeeping item, we learned that if we conserve like crazy we can go about two weeks before having to dump the tanks. In Anza Borrego area, one hitches up and drives to Anza Borrego State Park and pays $8 fee to use the dump and fresh water fill station. While inside the state park, it makes sense to take advantage of the pay showers which make us happy.


Filling up bike bags with fresh citrus

Finding good ways to exercise is easy in the Anza Borrego Desert area. From camp every morning we walked down a dirt road to the mud flats dry lake where Shug would run her joy loops and we would admire the sunrise and get in a good 2 hour hike before the day warmed up.  Outings on the bikes from camp into town or along the backroads made for a not too strenuous afternoon. We rode past citrus groves and toured the outdoor art displays on lightly trafficked roads. We stopped at the fruit stands and sampled juicy grapefruit and sweet tangerines. On the way back to camp we bought bags of fruit and lugged them home in our bike bags. Some days we explored slot canyons and others we hiked to a beautiful oasis or shady fern cave. Our day trips included birding at the Salton Sea, hanging out at Dog Beach in San Diego, and hiking a small segment of the Pacific Crest Trail.  


Kristy and Linda planking in the slot canyon

The layout of the Rockhouse site lends itself to meeting new people. We met a lovely, joyful couple from Saskatchewan, Canada and we sat around the fire sharing bits and pieces of our collective travels. They decided to watch the Super Bowl with us at Carlees, a little restaurant/bar in town, and they cheered for the Broncos right alongside us. Some of the other boondockers included a giant class A roundup of an RV club, some Airstreamers, and several solo women campers. Weekenders flowed in on Friday afternoons, but it never really got too crowded and quiet returned onSunday evenings.


Annette and Lynn, Christmas Circle Park

It would be hard not to love the little town of Borrego Springs. We visited the Friday farmer’s market, buying fresh hummus and bread and picking fresh vegetables from the produce displays. The green-grassed Christmas Circle Park in the middle of town has free Wi-Fi as well as picnic tables and electrical outlets at the base of the shade trees for relaxing and recharging phones and laptops.  Green grass is an exotic treat after days out in the dry desert so we loved hanging out and playing some do or die smash ball. During our town visits we tried out several of the other restaurants (all good), both grocery stores, the thrift shop, and the sweet Borrego Springs Library that offers free Wi-Fi, a $5 library card so one can check stuff out, and a comfortable, shady place to sit.

Dragon art