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anza borrego state park

Anza Borrego and Julian California

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Anza Borrego and Julian California
November 8th – 14th, 2021 (6 nights)

After recently returning from cool Oregon, we thought it might be nice to take a warm sunny trip to the California desert followed by a visit to a local mountain town.  Since we really enjoyed the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in Anza Borrego State Park a couple of years ago (our very first Scamping trip), we scheduled a return visit.  The campground is only a couple of hours drive from our home in San Diego and offers some great hiking and biking as well as a cute desert town (Borrego Springs) with its fun shops and tasty restaurants.  When we arrived in the late afternoon to our full hookup site (#A26), it was warm (in the low 80s) and the sun was casting a red glow on the desert sand.  Surrounded by cactus and wide open space, there is a unique kind of vibe in the desert which one feels as soon as stepping outside.  Tall mountains serve as a dramatic backdrop to the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground whose campsites are nestled right up to rocky mountain’s edges.  After setting up our Scamp 13’, we took a long walk around the campground before watching a movie and going to sleep.

The next morning our goal was to hike the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail, a 2.9 mile trail that leads to the third largest palm oasis in California (with California’s only native species of palm, the Fan palm).  The trail was closed when we were at the park our first time a couple of years ago due to recovery from a fire, so we were looking forward to seeing the oasis.  We left early to avoid the heat and followed the trail up to a v-shaped gorge where we glimpsed the palm grove (note: the waterfall wasn’t visible when we visited).   Along the way, we kept our eyes open for bighorn sheep on the mountain ledges above us, but these elusive animals remained out of our sight during our hike.  When we reached the oasis we spent a few minutes appreciating the spectacle of the huge grove of tall palm trees in the middle of the desert.  A handful of other hikers were also enjoying the same experience at the viewpoint.  We didn’t spend too long at the top because it was starting to get hot and we still had about an hour hike back to the campground.  Returning to the campground was easier than reaching the palm oasis because it was mostly hiking back down the mountain to the desert floor.  Note:  always hike with a partner and bring plenty of water if attempting this hike because it can get very hot here and there is no cell phone reception on this desert/mountain trail.

Once rested after our morning hike, we decided to ride our bikes into town and have lunch at Carmelita’s (Mexican food).  We were really glad we brought our bikes along because the roads are mostly wide open and flat and having bikes makes it really convenient to explore.  We even road our mountain bikes across portions of desert sand and it was really fun.  The bike trip into town was an easy 15 minute ride.  We sat with our bikes at Carmelitas on their outside patio and enjoyed a fantastic lunch (chips and salsa followed by excellent chicken mole enchiladas).  After lunch, we browsed items at the Borrego Outfitters shop next door (two years ago we purchased really interesting metal interlocking canteens and UV sun sleeves here).  Then, we biked to the Anza Borrego State Park Visitor’s Center on the West end of the park and purchased some t-shirts.  After all the day’s excitement, we enjoyed watching the stars in the evening.  Anza Borrego State Park achieved its International Dark Sky Park rating in 2018 and, as such, is recognized as a premier place for stargazing.  We retired in the Scamp after a long and fun day and watched a movie before bed.

We asked one of the park rangers if it would be OK to delay checkout from Noon until around 12:45 p.m. and we were told that was fine.  We wanted to eat lunch before stopping off at Bike Borrego (a local ebike tour company) to pick up a new bike lock (the one we recently purchased had failed).  The owner could only meet us at 1 p.m. to sell us one of his locks (and there are no other bike stores in town).  After purchasing our new bike lock, we drove an hour and a half to our next destination, the Salton Sea.  Unfortunately, conditions were not pleasant at the Salton Sea.  It was 88 degrees with many small flying insects and the air smelled of rotten eggs.  The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was formed from runoff of the Colorado River in the early 1900s.  In the 1950’s and 60’s it became a resort destination.  Bird watching was also popular as the wetlands were a major resting stop on the Pacific Flyway.  In the 1980s, contamination from farm runoff promoted the outbreak and spread of diseases.  Massive numbers of birds and fish died.  During this time, large amounts of water evaporated which resulted in very high salinity, further destroying fish and other wildlife.  What remains is a toxic wasteland.  It’s not recommended to go into or touch the water and the air often smells.  The air smell is caused by elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide gas coming from the Salton Sea (it’s a highly toxic gas created by organic decay in the absence of oxygen at the bottom of the Salton Sea).  Needless to say, we left the Salton Sea Mecca Beach Campground after only about 5 minutes.  We called ahead to our next planned stop in Julian, William Heise County Park, and fortunately were told we could arrive a couple of days early as our campsite was open!

We arrived at William Heise campground in the charming mountain town of Julian right around sunset after a two hour drive from the Salton Sea.  We usually like arriving to campgrounds earlier in the day as it’s easier to see the campsite, locate a good pad position for the Scamp, and set everything up.  However, this was an unusual circumstance and we didn’t have much of a choice on timing.  Fortunately, we were able to quickly find our campsite (#41) and get everything in order because as soon as we finished setting up, it became extremely dark.  We chose a non-hookup site because the hookup sites at this campground are only partial (water & electric) and generally not as spaced out as the non-hookup sites.  There are water spigots located throughout the campground which we used to fill our Fresh Water tank daily.  And, we used our solar panel briefcase and Jackery 500 lithium battery to supply all the power we needed.  There is also a free central dump at this campground (which we used in combination with our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution to avoid having to move our Scamp).  The weather was nice and cool in the afternoon and evening (a relief from the 88 degree temperatures we left a couple of hours earlier).  Daytime temperatures, in the 70’s, were also much cooler than the desert as Julian is located at over 4,000 feet elevation.

Julian is an old gold mining town where the gold rush happened in the 1850s.  Since then, apples and tourism have become the town’s new gold, and pie and gift shops line main street.  Julian is a very popular day trip destination for people who live in San Diego and Los Angeles because it’s only a two or three hour drive respectively.   People come here for the day to visit the apple orchards in the early Fall and throughout the year to eat apple, apple berry, and other varieties of pies.  Downtown Julian is about a 12-minute drive from William Heise County Park, which we found was good because downtown was very busy when we visited!  We did venture downtown a few times for the mandatory sampling of some of the different types of apple pies at both the Julian Pie Co. and the Julian Café and Bakery!  But, we mostly enjoyed staying in the campground and hiking the numerous trails (e.g. Cedar Creek Trail, Canyon Oak Trail, Desert View/Glen’s View Trail).  The Desert View Trail with a hike up to the Glen’s View outlook is notable because at the peak one can see both Anza Borrego and the Salton Sea on one side and San Diego and the ocean on the other.  Because we arrived two days early, we had ample amount of time to explore Julian and the William Heise County Park.  One interesting stop before leaving on our last day was the Julian Wolf Center.  We were able to observe a couple of wolf packs on our one hour wolf conservation tour ($30/each).  The center seeks to breed wolves and release wolf pups back into the wild. We found the wolf center to be an interesting experience.

This relatively short trip reinforced a couple of our Scamp travel principles.  First, travel to locations which have favorable weather conditions for a more comfortable trip.  We did find both Anza Borrego and Julian to have very favorable weather conditions this time of year (Fall).  Second, be open-minded and flexible if you don’t feel comfortable at the campsite to which you pull up.  And, have your usernames and passwords with you for all your campground reservation websites in case you need to cancel your reservation, make a change, or make a new reservation.  If you do need to cancel at the last minute because you don’t want to stay at the campsite (like in our case with the Salton Sea), you will likely forfeit at least a day’s campsite fee (which usually isn’t much), but it will be worth an overall more enjoyable trip!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

A Bright Idea for Mounting Flashlights!

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A Bright Idea for Mounting Flashlights!

After a year of travelling in our Scamp 13’, the benefit of having a good flashlight within easy reach has been reinforced on more than one occasion.  When the Sun sets, it can get pretty dark out in the wild pretty quickly.  And, it’s not uncommon for us to be outside after dark to:  retrieve trip food and water from our SUV, watch the stars, and sometimes join friends for dinner around a group campfire.  At some of the places we have visited, it has been difficult to see even a foot ahead of ourselves (such as Anza Borrego State Park).  Without a flashlight in these extremely low light conditions, it can be hard to find one’s way back to the camper!  And, there are times when having a quick light is necessary to find a critical item or make an adjustment outside the trailer (such as switching between propane tanks).

For a while, we kept a traditional flashlight attached by 3M Scotch Fasteners (e.g. like Velcro) next to our dinette on the side of the sink.  It worked OK, but because the flashlight’s round head would not lay flat against the wall, we frequently bumped it causing the flashlight to fall onto the dinette bench or floor.  Then, we had a magnetic idea!  What if we could find a flashlight that would lay flat and, in turn, be less prone to knocking off the wall?  Well, we found such a light, and not only is it flat, but it also has a magnetic backing (as well as hanger)!

This rubber coated AlltroLite is small (3.7”x2.4”x1.3”) but packed with enough LEDs to be really bright!  There are two modes:  one turns on the 3 LEDs which face forward and acts like a traditional flashlight and the other mode activates 24 LEDs which turns it into more of a work light.  Not only is there a magnet on the back of the flashlight, but it also has a hook which rotates 360 degrees for hanging.  The flashlight is sold in a 3 pack and comes with the required 3 AAA batteries for each light.  We’ve found the lights to be very bright and nice and compact.  The LED bulbs are rated at 100,000 hours, so they are likely to last many camping trips!

The magnet added a new twist and we quickly figured that magnetism would be a good way to mount the flashlight to the Scamp’s wall.  We liked the idea of using the magnet instead of fastening tape because we wanted the flashlight to be as close to the wall as possible due to the desired corner mounting location being an easy target for brushing up against.  Also, the flashlight would be easier to pull off and re-attach to the mount with a magnet vs. fastening tape.  The only wrinkle in our plan was that the Scamp is a fiberglass trailer and its walls are mostly fiberglass, so a magnet won’t stick to its walls.

For the flashlight’s magnet to stick against the Scamp’s fiberglass wall, we chose to use a thin stainless steel strip taped to the fiberglass wall.  We chose a small piece of sheet metal stock which is very thin (around .02 inches thick) so the mount would keep the flashlight close to the wall.  Using a pair of metal snips, I cut a small strip (only about the width of the magnet and length about the width of the flashlight).  This ensures that the magnet has sufficient area to which to attach.  I also made sure to trim away all sharp metal corners for safety.  I then unrolled some clear double sided Gorilla tape (rated to support up to 15lbs!) and stuck the tape to one side of the metal strip (trimming away any excess tape extending over the strip with scissors).  After this was done, I peeled away the very thin Gorilla tape adhesive cover, attached the metal strip to the flashlight’s magnet (non-adhesive side) and then pressed the entire assembly (flashlight and steel strip) onto the wall (adhesive side facing the fiberglass) at the location where we wanted the flashlight.  Viola!  The flashlight now was secure on its mount hanging on the wall!   We are really happy with this magnetic solution and mounted one flashlight at the door entry and one inside, near bed.  Now, we have easy access to a light whether we are outside the Scamp or inside by the dinette!  This approach has been very illuminating and hopefully you too will come to “see the light” soon!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Date of Visit:  February 24 – 27th, 2020

Our first multi-day trip in our Scamp was in the desert at this beautiful State Park about a 2 hour drive from our home in San Diego. Our neighbor and friend Dewey organizes a trip here every February with a bunch of friends and invited us to come along this year.

We stayed in Borrego Palm Canyon campground within the park. The campground is surrounded by mountains, where the big horn sheep (borregos) can be spotted. We chose site #14 next to Dewey and we had full hookups. The full hookup spot cost us $35 / night plus a $7.99 online reservation fee through the California State Parks website.  If you are good with dry camping, less expensive sites can be reserved as well. There is a central dump and water available for dry campers.

The campground was very quiet and well organized, despite being very popular. We had some cell phone service with Verizon. It can be very hot here during parts of the year (e.g. Summer), so best to reserve Late Fall, Winter, or early Spring. There are nice trails (e.g. Surprise Canyon) and a great visitor center (with some nice t-shirts and other Anza mementos). The visitor center also provides short films on the desert as well as information on Ranger guided hikes.

Our days were spent relaxing in the Scamp, making meals, hiking on the trails, shopping in the visitor center and watching some nature movies there, going into town and visiting shops and restaurants, exploring the metal sculptures at Galleta Meadows, sitting by the campfire and enjoying nightly shared dinner with our bunch of friends, and watching the stars at night. With no moon, the heavens are incredibly bright and one can spend hours looking up and pondering the universe on a dark night.

The little town of Borrego Springs (a few miles away from the campground) offers some nice restaurants and some nice camping supply stores. It reminded of us of an old Western town lost in time from decades ago. We purchased some UV sleeves, UV buff, and a multiple stage metal canteen at one of the shops.

The things that we really enjoyed at Anza Borrego were the dramatic starry nights (pitch black space with millions and millions of stars), hiking on the desert trails, the desert metal sculptures at Goleta Meadows just outside the park, the great Mexican food at Carmelita’s,… and making new friends!