Who doesn't love playing in dirt and rocks?

The Totally Trailer Gang is not shy about posting entries on the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, but this expansive park never ceases to amaze us. Every time we visit, we uncover new treasures and find more adventures.

On this trip we explored more mud caves and found a very prominent earthquake fault line. The mountains look as if they were cut apart, folded like an accordion and then clumsily glued back together. Anza Borrego sits within a complex and intertwining zone of fault lines and active tectonic activity. According to scientists, the southern San Andreas Fault System has produced ongoing seismic activity for millions of years. This is the same system that caused two plates to diverge, therefore causing the Salton Sea (Trough) and the Gulf of California to open up. In the recent geological past, many basins in this area have been uplifted and manipulated. These shifts, lifts and erosion have formed breathtaking mountain ranges that look like intricate jigsaw puzzles with colorful bands and ribbons running through them.

This trip was all about dirt and rocks, since we admired and explored these mountains from the inside out!

Here’s a great quote that is fitting for this entry and for the Anza Borrego area: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious; It is the source of all true art and all science. -- Albert Einstein”

Our picturesque boondocking camp spot in Mountain Palm Springs primitive campground 

Check out these views of the valley...not too shabby!

The Cougar all nestled in to her spot

Looks like little one is enjoying the view too!

Incredible force from a fault line

The accordion ripples almost look man-made

A spooky entrance to one of the 22 mud caves in the area

Equipped with lanterns and flashlights we are off on another adventure deep within a cave

Little one is becoming one with nature and enjoying being inside the expansive mud cave system

Peeking out of the mud cave, there is nothing around for miles

Around every corner is a new surprise in the mud caves...like the streaming light!

A large cave system can suddenly make you feel so small

Hiking Palomar Mountain

High above the city lights, Palomar Mountain majestically watches over North San Diego County.

At 6,142 feet elevation, it is dwarfed by the nearby San Bernardino and Riverside County mountain ranges, but it is nevertheless a quiet escape for many San Diegans.

Well known for it's winter wonderland and summer camps, we chose to visit over spring break and enjoy the tranquil landscape, green fields and blooming flora and fauna. We were also greeted by wildlife and "oohed and ahhed" over a herd of deer that were grazing right in front of us.

We trekked "over the river and through the woods" and had a picnic at the pond (where the birds stole a cookie from my lunch bag....man, I really wanted that cookie). We hiked over, under and across fallen tree branches and found a multitude of trees riddled with woodpecker holes.

Palomar Mountain is also known for it's 200 inch telescope and Observatory, but on this adventure, we stuck to the great outdoors! www.palomarsp.org

Welcome to Palomar Mountain State Park!

Sing with us... "Over the River and Through the Woods...."

This enormous fallen tree branch spans the entire forest floor, making it's own bridge

Steady Now....Hiking across the "bridge", it's a lot higher up than it looks!

Fascinating hollowed out tree branch looked like a carved out canoe

Our Little Log Climber

When Wood Peckers Attack!

Hungry herd of deer don't seem too bothered by us watching them

We call this one "Cirque De Hungry Deer"

Arroyo Tapiado Mud Cave Exploration

I am not sure if the Arroyo Tapiado Mud Caves in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are one of the best kept secrets of the park, because many people I run into have never even heard of this magnificent place!

Granted, you feel like a lost sheep wandering the vast desert to find them but they are "totally" worth it!!

The drive to find the mud caves, is almost as much fun as the mud caves themselves. The trek in makes you feel like you are a million miles away from everything. There are no city lights, no freeways, no stop lights and no one around for miles.We kept playing the "Indiana Jones" theme song in our heads while traversing the desolate dirt roads! Every twist and turn made us hold our breath wondering what was around the corner. The rock and mud formations along the way were a sight to see and left us wondering "what was back there"? At every corner we wanted to get out and hike and explore the area, but we kept onward to our mud cave destination.

There are no neon signs, no "Welcome to the Mud Caves" billboard and no physical way to see that these mud caves exist from the road. The only way you know where they are is if you follow another motorist in, someone is parked down near the area, or if you have been there before. This anonymity adds to the mystery and anticipation of exploring these natural wonders.

The name Arroyo Tapiado derives from the Spanish language meaning "walled wash" and the Arroyo Tapiado canyon is full of 22 known mud caves and 9 slot canyons! These mud caves are the most extensive mud cave systems in the world with some of the caves extending over 1000 feet! These are not claustrophobic caves either, some of these systems are cavernous with ceilings 80 feet tall and 325 feet wide.

They were formed by fluvial erosion caused by periods of heavy rain fall. When the heavy rain occurs it cuts channels into the mud hills which causes erosion and forms canyon with undercut walls. Some channels deepen and some cave in. The mud of the collapsed walls dry and adhere to other portions of the canyon thus forming bridges, archways and even natural "skylights" in the caves.

It's truly a natural wonder and you can spend days there and not see everything that Arroyo Tapiado has to offer.

Some notes of interest and words of caution:
* 4WD is recommended to traverse the dirt roads in.
* Make sure you bring water and snacks (you are a long way from civilization and it is dry and hot out there).
* The mud caves can be unstable, so use caution (it is also recommended not to walk on top of the caves for fear of cave ins). People have lost their lives in these areas, so use caution and common sense (this is not rock, this is unstable MUD)!
* Bring lights, i.e.: flashlights, lanterns. Once you are in the caves, there is no light and it becomes pitch black.
* Don't leave your trash please, let's keep it nice for many generations.

***On a side note, we recommend doing that while in the cave...gather everyone around and simultaneously shut off your lights. The blackness is astounding and the quiet is deafening!!***

Our taxi to the great unknown!

Even my parents came to explore the caves...it was a family affair! 

                                    Three Generations of Explorers!

The entrance to the cave is a back breaker, but looks like fun doesn't it?

Equipped with lanterns and Camelbak's we are ready for adventures

There is no greater skylight than God's skylight!

Taking a break and eating some lunch perched at the mouth of a cave

Papa and little one went off exploring on their own 

Wedged into a narrow slot and passageway

Oh No, look who the tour guide is?!

Hubby and I walked right up on this perfectly coiled and perfectly camouflaged rattler...that will give you a moment of pause!

First Day With Our New Toy

On March 12, 2012 we welcomed a 31ft Aljo Travel Trailer to our family. Our first trip was to Anza Borrego at Palm Canyon. We literally picked up the travel trailer from San Diego and drove immediately to the RV park...we just couldn't wait to start RV'ing!

Meet the Trailer

Documenting the momentous occassion in the rocky sand