Camping Trip: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Desert Wildflowers in Bloom

View from our campsite

Rain droplets fell as if someone was squeezing a huge wad of soaked cotton ball over my house while I looked at the deceptively blue sky framing the mountains from my north-facing kitchen window. Fortunately I had already taken in the sleeping bags that were sunning on the backyard clothesline. This quick change in weather was also at play when my husband, our friend NC and I were driving over the mountains to our campsite at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park this past Friday afternoon.

Checking the weather forecast leading up to that afternoon, there was no rain predicted, but it started raining as we got closer to Anza-Borrego Springs. The campsite was dry but once we had pitched our tents, it started to rain. We messaged our other friends that we were going to just have dinner at a Mexican restaurant 6 minutes away by car, as it’s difficult to cook in pouring rain. We were lucky to be seated at a table fairly quickly at the packed restaurant which was cheerfully decorated with numerous calla lily themed paintings and filled with desert wildflower bloom seekers like us.

When we go camping with our friends, we eat quite well, taking turns to make dinner or breakfast. Usually, we prep the ingredients as much as we can before the trip. My husband and I had spent a few hours baking seasoned potatoes and sweet potatoes, and cutting up carrots on Thursday. Our friend AB brought a lot of steaks for Saturday’s dinner so we provided the potatoes and the vegetable soup to go with the meat. Our friends VT and PP made Korean seafood tofu soup with rice, half-boiled egg, kimchi and steamed vegetables for Saturday’s breakfast while AB cooked sausages and eggs to go with buttered bread on the grill. For Sunday’s breakfast, my husband made steak and vegetables fried rice while AB brought chocolate croissants and other pastries to go with the pan fried sausages and eggs with bread. Another couple, VN and AT brought fruit and snacks to add to our abundant food choices. We always end up with a lot of food!

What is your favorite camping meal?

What about your favorite place for camping?

This past weekend was the peak of the blooming wildflowers at Anza-Borrego. The magenta-pink and yellow flowers that carpeted the landscape caught most people’s attention but I enjoyed taking photos of the less showy, pale-hued flowers. We drove in an all-wheel drive Subaru car on sandy roads to reach Fonts Point where we could see the amazing Borrego Badlands. These highly eroded, multi-layered sedimentary rock formations reminded us of Bryce Canyon. From Fonts Point, we could experience the 4 elements of Fire (sun warming our skin), Earth (rocks underfoot and before us), Air (breath that connects us with ancestors) and Water (the Salton Sea gleaming in the distance).

Borrego Badlands

Even from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park itself, we enjoyed pleasing views of the landscape and skyscape. At night, when all the campfires were out and the skies were clear, I was awestruck by the sight and the feel of a million stars greeting and blessing all of us here on Planet Earth. We are all part of one big web of life, entangled and connected in an ocean of consciousness, moving and being moved, flowing with the Whole.

As the Sun moves from Pisces to Aries at 8:05 pm Pacific, on March 19, 2024 (Tuesday), we welcome Spring in the northern hemisphere. The new astrological year begins at the Spring Equinox for those living in the northern hemisphere, when the Sun arrives at 0 degrees of Aries.  As a “Sun in Aries” person, I have been feeling the promise of Spring’s new life and new opportunities even in the prior few weeks. Aries is the sign of the warrior, the leader, and the pioneer who overcomes fear to courageously face the unknown.

My friends, Aries tells us to face our fears and open our hearts to new life now. Be bold, move beyond fear and seize the day!

May we be as determined and resilient as the weeds in my garden,

Tee Ming