UCSD Photo Trip to Borrego Springs Desert Bloom When: March 14 7:45 AM Where: Meet at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs - Christmas Circle has bathrooms. Look for my black Dodge Ram pickup. What: Flower and landscapes photography Warning: Closed toe shoes are highly recommended. Tools: Bring water! Camera, tripod, assorted lenses and comfortable walking shoes. Bring extra batteries, cards or film if you are using a film camera. If you have a diffuser bring it. Directions: See maps below. Parking: We can car pool from Christmas Circle as some of the sites we will visit may have limited parking and if we are caravanning it will be easier to follow with fewer cars. Lunch: I suggest we all eat at Pablito s Mexican Bar and Grill. It is my favorite place to eat in Borrego Springs. PLUS, the Big Horn Fudge Company is in the same shopping center and they have great fudge and ice cream (-; Notes: Dudly s Bakery is not open on Tuesdays. Bathrooms are only available in town! Our trip to Borrego Springs is to photograph the desert flower bloom and some landscapes. Plan on about 3 hours with lunch following. If we are not too tired, perhaps some additional shooting after lunch around town. The walks will be short and on soft to medium sand and with roads accessible to all cars. Carpooling is suggested. Depending on the types of vehicles available and the time remaining, we may be able to do a scenic side trip or two. Two will require at least medium clearance under your car and one requires 4-wheel drive because of soft sand most of the way. I have not pre-run this trip so conditions may be better or worse. My estimates are based on previous trips to these areas. We are not in a rush we will take our time and will never be more than a 3-4 minute walk to the cars. Things to know ahead of time: 1. Know how to set your camera to aperture priority (usually Av on Canon, A on Nikon). 2. Know how to set the ISO of your camera. 3. Know why we would choose different apertures. More info here: http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_abdsp.html http://www.abdnha.org/pages/03flora/reports/current.htm My contact info: jwvaughn@ucsd.edu 619-218-7905
Christmas Circle is not very big - look for my black Dodge Ram pickup.
Christmas Circle is pretty much in the center of town
I prefer the 67, 78, 79, S2, S22 route (blue) into Borrego springs as it is quite scenic if the weather cooperates. The Yaqui Pass / S3, 78, (your choice from Julian) route (red) is good for going home because you can stop for pie in Julian. There is not much difference in time or distance with either route unless starting near campus where the 52 to 67 is going to be shorter. The roads are good but slow. From Lemon Grove it takes me about 2.5 hours so plan accordingly for your starting location.
The scenic route is a bit complicated. At Dudlys Bakery turn left onto SR-79 and in about 7 miles, turn right on S2. In about 4.5 miles turn left on S22. There are several turn-outs once you start down the grade into Borrego Springs so if the weather permits, stop and enjoy the view. You will reach a stop sign, turn right there onto Palm Canyon to get to Christmas Circle.
The green high-lights are where flowers may found but keep an eye out once you leave town. Our primary area will be along Henderson Canyon Road. If you arrive late, look for us there.
These are possible additional sites to visit. Desert Gardens usually has a lot of Ocotillo blooming as well as small ares of various blooms. It can involve a shallow water crossing. Glorietta Canyon is favorite spot of mine to look for Ghost flowers. They are really tough to find as they don t group and they are hard to see. Font s Point has great views of the area but you drive in soft sand most of the way. 4-wheel drive is recommended as towing is quite expensive if you get stuck.