First Week in Borrego Springs

Borrego Springs, CA

After a month in San Diego along Mission Bay we headed east on I-8 on New Year’s Day.  The highway begins at sea level and quickly goes up 0ver 4,000 feet through the Cuyamaca Mountains.

After coming down the east side of the mountains we exited the interstate at the little town of Ocotillo and headed north on San Diego County route S2.

Beautiful colors along the S2

After about 45 miles we came to the intersection with Rte. 78, where we turned to the east.  We have driven this section of highway many times and usually find very little traffic.  So we were very surprised to find a steady stream of campers and RVs passing us as they headed west.

The road is a good way to go from the off road vehicle area of Ocotillo Wells State Vehicle Recreation Area to the east (and Imperial Sand Dunes even further to the east) and the urban areas of the Pacific coast to the west.  Apparently many people visited these areas during the holidays and everyone decided to return to the coast at the same time.

After about seven miles of passing RVs on Rte. 78 we turned left on to County Road S3 and drove over the Yaqui Pass to the quiet of Borrego Springs.

Borrego Springs in the distance

This is not the first time we have come to Borrego Springs after a stay in San Diego.  While we enjoy our stay on the coast, the traffic can be a bit over whelming.  That makes the quiet of the desert even more attractive.  Below is a photo taken one afternoon as we navigated I-5 on a return drive from Oceanside.

Contrast that with the photo below of the main street in Borrego Springs as we arrived in town.  The pace here is just a bit slower than along the coast!

Rush hour on main street

After a month sitting right along the coast, we were concerned about the impact of the salt air on the motorhome.  The RV park where we stay, The Springs at Borrego, does not allow washing of vehicles at your site, but it has a wash area near the park entrance.  So we took advantage of the opportunity and spent time washing the rig before proceeding to our site.

In an effort to speed up the task the nimble hiker even joined in the process, providing valuable assistance in both the washing and drying phases.  The prevailing sentiment is that her participation is a one time effort that will not be repeated in the near future.  She has enough to do maintaining the inside of the motorhome!

After completing the wash job we quickly set up in our assigned site.  Dave and Sue (Beluga’s Excellent Adventure) will arrive in a few days and set up in the site next to us.

Our first couple of days were spent riding our bikes around the area and completing a hike into a canyon west of town.

Heading into town with the bikes

Hiking up into Hellhole Canyon

The view east to Borrego Springs from Hellhole Canyon

Toward the end of the week Lewis finally arrived (Dave and Sue came with him) so we enjoyed some “chase the ball” time in our motorhome.

The throw rug always suffers during ball time!

One of the highlights of our stay in this park is the chance to golf on their beautiful nine hole course.  John and Dave plan on taking advantage of the course many times during the next three weeks.

There are many interesting places to visit and things to do here (beyond the golf) so we’re sure to be busy every day.  More on that later . . .

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