We spent ten beautiful days in the southern part of Anza-Borrego State Park, not far from the Mexican border. The days were hot, the nights cool, and the wind fierce at times, but we had a great time hiking and exploring the area. (Click on any of the images to see them larger.)

Our camp in Bow Willow.

Another view of camp.

Orion and the Escape in the desert.

Sunset from the top of Egg Hill.

One of the unexpected surprises in our time here were the wildflowers: Anza-Borrego was in the midst of a superbloom. Not only were there tons of cacti and other small flowers blooming, but the mountains were covered with carpets of small yellow flowers, visible from miles away.

Beautiful blooming ocotillo plants have been with us from Anza-Borrego all the way into Arizona. (Photo credit: Susan)

Silver Cholla.

These tiny flowers were also str

Hedgehog Cactus

Barrel cactus in bloom.

Close-up of bee diving for pollen in a barrel cactus.

Susan did a lot of long, great hikes through the area, over mountains, into washes and canyons. She also had an encounter with a rattlesnake, in which each participant wisely moved away from each other.

Canyon Sin Nombre. (Photo credit: Susan)

Another view of the Canyon Sin Nombre trail. (Photo credit: Susan)

The Border Patrol was always present in the park; we were only a few miles from the Mexican border, and the Anza-Borrego desert is a common route. (Photo credit: Susan)