Road Trip!

I took a road trip that took me through the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It's Californa's largest SP and I'd never even heard of it!

At first glance, the Park appears to be a whole lot of nothing. But I soon found it was full of something a City Slicker like me rarely sees -- miles and miles of open road. I had the opportunity to drive about half-way through the Park and enjoy the sights. Aside from rabbits and what I thought were meerkats (they turned out to be ground squirrels), I didn't see any wild life. As a big fan of Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor, I was excited at the prospect of seeing meerkats.

The drive through the Park gave me plenty of time to enjoy the quiet beauty of the dessert. I kept seeing this unusual looking looking cactus with pretty red/orange looking blooms along the roadside. I later learned it's called an Ocotillo. As you can see, it's rather strange looking with long, tendril-like branches.

The long drive through the Park forced me to spend more time alone than I have in a very long time. I think the solitude must have made me a little goofy.

On the drive home, I managed to bypass the outlet malls and casinos, but I just couldn't resist a date/banana shake from Hadley Farms -- YumYum! This was an unexpected trip, but I'm so glad I got to see this beautiful part of my State.