Month: February 2022

21 Feb 2022: Skull Rock, Hall of Horrors, Barker Dam, Hidden Valley

by JamesCalifornia / Day Trips / Hikes / Joshua Tree National Park / National Parks

We got a much earlier start today, President’s Day, and had a much better experience with smaller crowds. There were plenty of hikers, just not the insane number yesterday. The weather was clear and sunny but the wind had picked up significantly. Although sunny, it was cold and REALLY windy. But once on the trail, there was plenty of shelter from the wind by the rock outcroppings. Most of the popular trails in Joshua Tree are short, easy & family-friendly so you encounter more families on the trails than more challenging hikes. Still, there are plenty of side trails and boulders to scramble over if you want more of a challenge and fewer people.


Some landmarks like Skull Rock & Hall of Horrors are close to the road. Today, Skull Rock was uncrowded so we stopped for a quick photo, but didn’t hike the nature trail loop. Next stop was Hall of Horrors – we had to stop just because of the name. It’s a really short 0.6mi loop hike around some great climbing walls. We did not find the namesake ‘hall’ between the two rock faces I read about later on Alltrails.com.
Next, was Barker Dam, another short 1.5mi hike that loops by a small dam built by cattlemen in 1949. A great short hike but the dam’s water level was very low. Bighorn Sheep & other wildlife are said to visit this watering hole but we did not see anything or signs much had been around recently. On the way back, there are Petroglyphs in an alcove. Most are at eye-level & higher so they are easy to miss without the trail marker or people gathered.
With such short hikes, we wanted one more and Hidden Valley Nature Trail was real close. It’s another short but beautiful Joshua Tree hike (1mi loop) surrounded by the beautiful rock outcroppings & plant life.

That was enough of Joshua Tree for this trip so we exited through the West Entrance and stopped at the very popular iconic (and crowded) Joshua Tree Saloon. Dining outdoors was a real challenge with the gusting afternoon winds blowing through the patio. But it was a great way to finish the day and worth the wait.

20 Feb 2022: Joshua Tree-Split Rock Loop Trail

by JamesCalifornia / Day Trips / Hikes / Joshua Tree National Park / National Parks

It should have been no surprise to us that Joshua Tree National Park on President’s Day weekend would be crowded. But the number of cars & people was insane – I know national parks are more popular than ever but today was nuts. Even the north entrance had a queue of 20 cars. We have a lifetime pass and fortunately they opened a 2nd lane & waved us through. We got into the Split Rock Loop Trail parking area around noon. It was full but we were able to park on the side of the road that fed into the parking area. It was busy but with everyone dispersed, we had a nice hike. The weather was great, not hot, so hiking conditions were perfect.

Since we were staying in 29Palms, close to the north entrance, we should have got an earlier start. By 2pm all the landmark destinations were packed, with cars overflowing along the road. We tried to stop at Keys View at 3pm and ended up just turning around. We decided to get an earlier start tomorrow, hoping Monday, even though it was still a holiday, would be less crowded.

19-22 Feb 2022: 29Palms/Joshua Tree

by JamesCalifornia / Campgrounds / Joshua Tree National Park / National Parks / RVing / Trips

We left Anza-Borrego on such a high note, seeing & photographing Bighorn Sheep. I felt less enthusiastic moving on to Joshua Tree. Last time we camped there in Feb 2021 was such a short visit, we wanted to see more of the National Park. After the excitement of successful wildlife photography, landscape photography seemed less interesting to me. But if anyplace can get a person excited about the landscape, it’s Joshua Tree.
Unfortunately, all the campgrounds in Joshua Tree were booked and we did not feel like chancing one of the ‘first-come first-serve’ no-reservation campsites on a long President’s Day weekend.
Fortunately, we were able to reserve a full-hookup campsite at Twentynine Palms RV Resort. After dry-camping for 4-days in Anza-Borrego, we missed having full hookups. Twentynine Palms RV Resort is a few miles from the north entrance to Joshua Tree NP. So it’s a great option when campsites are unavailable inside the park. Yucca Valley, 15mi west near the main park entrance, also has RV campgrounds but these were all booked for the dates we needed.

An interesting side-note: in the evening at this RV Resort dozens of turkey vultures soar above the golf course next door. They eventually settle for the night into the tall trees that stand between the campground and the golf course. Tom, a resort regular, told me they can number in the hundreds at times and return every year to roost in these tall trees which are unusual for the area.

19 Feb 2022: Finally Bighorn Sheep

by JamesAnza-Borrego State Park / California / Campgrounds / Camping / State Parks / Wildlife

11am – an hour before departure from Borrego Palm Canyon Campground: on our way back to campsite 105, we drove to the day-use parking lot to turn-around. A Ranger directing traffic for Palm Canyon Trail parking had me pull into a parking spot and before I could tell him “I’m just turning around”. He pointed out the Bighorn Sheep near the road. We were finally able to see & photograph a pair of young male Bighorns. They were less than 100yards from our new campsite – if we were still at site 97, we probably would have missed them. They were not disturbed by the dozen hikers in the Palm Canyon parking lot & trailhead. In fact, they crossed the trail & were unconcerned with our presence. I brought my 200-500mm Nikon zoom lens this trip just for this reason. It was a bright enough morning that I was able to hand-hold this long lens. Here are some of my favorites taken just 30mins before we were to leave for 29Palms/Joshua Tree.

After Anza-Borrego, we headed to Twentynine Palms/Joshua Tree, a 2.5hr drive. I was on Cloud-9. Our Anza-Borrego stay was fun but this morning’s Bighorn Sheep encounter made it extra special. Some regulars at Anza say they see them all the time. I’m just glad we did before we left.

18 Feb 2022: The Slot

by JamesAnza-Borrego State Park / California / Hikes / State Parks

Anza-Borrego State Park is the largest state park in California so the drive to The Slot actually leaves the park then re-enters. From Borrego Palm Canyon Campground it’s ~17mi 27mins. The dirt road ‘entrance’ (Borrego Mountain Wash on Google Maps) is pretty easy to miss since it’s not marked. Our navigation app said to park on the CA-78. But do not do that since the trailhead & parking lot is ~0.8mi up the wash. This road is not paved and has some soft spots but a 4×4 isn’t required unless muddy. The day-use (fee required) parking area near the trailhead has minimal facilities, just directional signs & a vault toilet restroom. Be sure to bring drinking water since there isn’t any running water.

Google Street View of The Slot entrance, Borrego Mountain Wash ‘Road’

Alltrails describes the trail as a loop but we hiked to the”Drop Off’ then back. The Slot is a canyon with some VERY narrow passages ie you have to slip through sideways or scramble over. Some canyon walls look like dirt/mud with layers of sedimentary rock and others are sandstone. A couple spots require scrambling over fallen rocks & cliff-side that block the trail. Otherwise it’s fairly flat & has wider areas amongst the narrow sections. These wider areas are a good place to stop if you hear people approaching from the narrows so there’s room for them to pass. Although it feels claustrophobic in the very narrow sections, the trail opens into wider canyon frequently. This isn’t nearly as breathtaking as Antelope Canyon or Buckskin Gulch. But it is a beautiful, worth-while, unique hike if you are in Anza-Borrego.

17 Feb 2022: Palm Canyon Trail-Montezuma Rd

by JamesAnza-Borrego State Park / California / Hikes / State Parks

Since we were staying in Borrego Palm Canyon Campground. The trailhead was just a feet hundred feet from our campsite. On Thursday, there were fewer hikers especially at 9:30am. This trail can get pretty busy especially on the weekends. Plus it is a popular trail for school & nature tours with a day-use, fee-based parking lot on the north side of the campground.
The reason it’s a popular hike is it an easy well-maintained trail with a creek & waterfall. Plus Bighorn Sheep are often in the area and spotted on or close to the trail. Seeing and photographing Bighorn Sheep was my main goal when booking this campground. But they are wild and unpredictable so we did not see any this day.
The Palm Grove Oasis area at the end of the trail is off-limits so the trail ends in a rocky overlook. Charring of the palm trunks is visible on most of the tall palms. New growth is flourishing and hopefully they’ll be able to open the area up again in a few more years. Since this is our first trip here, we do not have any idea what it was like before the fire.

No Bighorn Sheep spotted during our hike this morning so after grabbing lunch at Carlee’s Place in Borrego Springs. We headed up Montezuma Valley Rd since Bighorn Sheep are often spotted along that stretch of Anza-Borrego. Along the way, we drove by the DeAnza Country Club where other hikers mentioned seeing sheep – no luck there either. Their website has a photo of several Bighorns drinking from the golf course water hazard – pretty funny. So they do visit there during the drier time of the year.
The drive up Montezuma Valley Rd is scenic, with a beautiful panoramic vista at the lookout, but no sheep were spotted. It’s actually an alternate route to San Diego and we passed several RVs as we drove to the summit before turning around.
So I settled on metal ‘animals’, photographing some of the sculptures we missed during our Jan Anza-Borrego day-trip. Photographing wildlife is very much like fishing or going whale watching.

16-19 Feb 2022: Anza-Borrego State Park

by JamesAnza-Borrego State Park / California / Campgrounds / Camping / State Parks

After a short Valentine’s Day visit with family in Indio, we moved to Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in the State Park. Although Sat-Sun were completely booked for months, we were able to get three nights – two at one site (97), one nearby (105). So on Friday we had to move a couple hundred feet to a different site. It was a pain to have to move but the new site was only a few hundred feet away. It turned out to be quick and easy since we were dry-camping without any hookups. But we were much farther from the restroom, in a more remote spot. This would turn out to be a lucky change in my quest to photograph Bighorn Sheep.

Borrego Palm Canyon Campground has full hookup camping (parking-lot-style camping, completely booked) and dispersed campsites (some spotty availability during the week). There’s a very well-maintain restroom with flushing toilets, sinks, and hot private showers that require tokens (2 for $1). Scattered around the dry-camps are also vault toilets and water faucets to fill containers. It’s a very nice State Park campground – highly recommended.

13-22 Feb 2022: Indio/Anza-Borrego/Joshua Tree

by JamesAnza-Borrego State Park / California / Campgrounds / Joshua Tree National Park / RVing / Trips

Our original plan to head east through Arizona to New Mexico this month changed because of the cold front that hit much of the US mid-Feb. On our way back from New Mexico, our hope was to stop in Peoria & see a few Padres Spring Training games. So with Spring Training being canceled & Albuquerque down to 18°F, we decided to camp closer to home where we knew it’d be warmer.

Since we enjoyed our stay last month at Indian Waters RV Resort, we booked 3 nights this trip. This would give us a chance to visit family on Valentine’s Day. We picked a premium grass site this time since last visit they looked nicer. Turns out grass vs gravel really didn’t make much difference for us. Perhaps if we spent more time outside the RV in the evening. The only issue with the grass sites is lawn maintenance every few days plus sprinklers. Mowing means you have to move any gear onto the concrete pad.
After staying in Indio for 3 nights, we moved to Anza-Borrego Palm Canyon Campground and dry-camped for 3 nights. On our Jan 2022 trip to Indio, we day-tripped into Anza-Borrego and saw there much more we wanted to explore. So, although we couldn’t get more than 3 nights, we were able to dry-camp in the park. I really hoped to see & photograph the Bighorn Sheep that are often spotted around Borrego Palm Canyon.
After Anza-Borrego, our next stop was TwentyninePalms/Joshua Tree National Park. Every campsite inside the park was booked so our only option was to stay in Yucca Valley or TwentyNine Palms. TwentyNine Palms RV Resort had full-hookup sites available and is just a few miles from the North Entrance. We wanted to camp inside the park but enjoyed the full hookups after dry-camping 4 days.