I woke up on a random Saturday morning in late July with an urge to go on an adventure with Juno. It was hot as balls out, so camping was out of the picture, but I still wanted to go somewhere near the desert. I recalled learning about some super cool sculptures near the Anza-Borrego Desert and did a quick Google search to find them. I booked a hotel room at a nearby resort and started packing for our adventure.
(Heads up, this isn't a travel blog, so don't be expecting much from me in that arena).
-ANYWHO-
Juno and I drove for nearly 4 hours to a desert town called Borrego Springs east of San Diego. To get there we had to drive through the Anza-Borrego Desert, which was back-dropped by an electric sunset. I wanted to get out of my car and photograph it but it was already getting late. I had no idea where the sculptures were located and we first had to check into the hotel.
Stepping out of my Jeep into the dry desert heat was a little surprising. It was night time but still 90-something degrees. Coming from Florida where it hits over 100 with humidity, even I found this heat uncomfortable.
I used a map I found via Google (on the right) to locate the sculptures. I don't really recommend it... well, at least not if you're driving at night. (I'm sure there are better maps out there but I didn't do much research before this trip).
Over 130 full scale sculptures ranging from prehistoric mammals to mythical creatures are placed throughout the meadows. What I didn't realize is that they were not viewable from the road, at least not in the dark, so I had to guess where they were.
As I drove down the road I noticed a figure that looked like a serpent. It was the iconic sand serpent with the dragon head that I always saw in photos. I would have LOVED to have photographed it with the Milky Way in the background but the moon was too bright. I decided I would come back to it and kept driving until we found some elephants.
Juno and I stayed out for about two hours driving around looking for sculptures and hanging out under the stars. Besides the elephants we also found an Indian Chief head and three dinosaurs. Maybe one was a sloth. It was hard to tell.
It was hot out and we were exhausted. I had plenty of water and snacks in the car for us. Juno and I made it back to the hotel room and passed out.
The next morning we woke up around 7:30 am and went for a short walk. It was already heating up. I left Juno in the air conditioned hotel room and took advantage of the hotel's vacant pool.
The scenery around this place was amazing. Palm trees with mountains in the distance. I felt very grateful to be out of busy Los Angeles and enjoying some peaceful solitude in the desert.
The temperature was above 100 and it wasn't even 11 am. I went back to my room to shower and get ready for our 4 hour drive back. The time we spent out at Borrego Springs was way too short and I regretted not arriving earlier the day before. I contemplated going back to Galleta Meadows to find more sculptures but decided that it was better to just head back. We had a long drive ahead of us.
When I originally set out to shoot these sculptures, I had an idea in my head of posing as if I was fighting them with my flashlight being a sword or lightsaber. However, when I got to these sculptures (not the elephants - I'm talking about the dinosaurs and the creepy Indian head) I ended up sitting or standing calmly next to them. Like we were buddies.
There is some significance to that.
We all have fears and insecurities. If we want to overcome them then we must do so by understanding them - not fighting them. Make friends with your monsters. Deep, huh?
I want to go back to Borrego Springs again. I had an awesome experience and would love to see what these sculptures look like during the day. If you've been before feel free to share links to pictures or stories in the comments below.
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