Anza-Borrego

I travelled in the deserts of California for spring break this week. I started in Anza-Borrego. It is named in honor of Juan Baptiste de Anza (a mormon explorer in the 1800's) and bighorn sheep (sheep is borrego in Spanish).
This slot canyon was a lot of fun, but it was too short, only about a half mile. It was only a couple feet wide in some places, so I had to move sideways.
View from a wind cave.
This is Elephant Knees. I hiked up Mud Hills wash to the base of them and was surprised to find oyster shells everywhere. This land all used to be under the ocean about 2 million years ago.
These pictographs were made by the Kumayaay people. These grooves in the rock are called morteros. The indians ground seeds and nuts in the same places for thousands of years and created these smooth holes.
I camped on this cliff overlooking the badlands and the Salton Sea (way in the back) one night.

A spring flows through Borrego Canyon, and this native palm tree grove creates a real oasis in the desert.