Desert Driving

February 28, 2008

Dennis' son loves to watch "desert driving" videos depicting adventures in the Sahara and around the world. After buying a well-seasoned 1980 Jeep Wrangler in 2006, we expanded our explorations in the California desert and made a "desert driving" video of our own to share with him!

We met our match, though, in 2008. We were exploring Coyote Canyon in Anza-Borrego State Park when we confronted a hill that looked impossible to ascend! It was steep and rugged, with huge ruts, boulders and tight turns! Dennis tried it but didn't want to destroy our poor little Jeep, so we continued on foot, only to be passed by vehicle after vehicle. He became obsessed with conquering that hill.

It required an upgrade to a Jeep Rubicon. We attacked the hill the next year and conquered it. Before "improvements" were made to the road, it was high adventure to take guests up there.

Even on tame trails, we can access mud caves, oases, badlands, bighorn sheep, and colorful geological formations. When the Grand Canyon was carved, much of the sediment settled here. The colors are brilliant, in reverse order from those upstream. Anza-Borrego is the largest desert park in the United States, as large as the state of Rhode Island. It will be a few years before we run out of new places to explore.