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Calender Germar's Monthly Updater

February 2001: Hiking in Anza Borrego Desert, Skiing in Durango and on Mount Baldy, and a visit to Seattle

San Diego is well known for the beaches but the hinterland is equally beautiful. I went twice in February and once in March to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which is about 80 miles east of the coast. The desert provides perfect relaxation from the hussle and bussle of city life. Some people think that there is nothing out there (see below). But that's not true. There are plenty of interesting looking plants and animals ranging from small lizards to wild mountain goats. What I like most, however, is the feeling of spaciousness and timelessness, experienced in pristine and unspoiled nature.


The most eye-catching plants of the desert are ocotillos and cacti. The ocotillo is a spiny shrub with photosynthesizing stems and small bright green leaves. There is no plant that I know, which looks similar. Ocotillos provide a most picturesque sight against the blue sky:


Cacti, like this Hedgehog, can be found at many places of the Anza-Borrego Desert. They look most spectacular when the back light of the setting sun irradiates their spines and the desert then appears to glow.


Besides ocotillos and cacti, shrubs like this Desert Lavender are quite common. It smells very nice and lots of bees are attracted to it.


The next picture gives some impression of the desert's vastness. Wide valleys alternate with rugged mountains as far as the eye can see.


Despite the harsh condition, with temperatures soaring to almost 50ºC during summer and little precipitation throughout the year, ancient tribes made the desert their home. Their heritage can be seen at many places. The pictographs below are painted on a large rock. The drawing is thought to have been created by shamans or spiritual leaders as part of religious or ceremonial activities. The meanings of the art are obscure, and interpretations vary from one person to another. There are more than 50 known art sites in Anza-Borrego.


Another example of early human settlement are grinding holes where food was prepared. They can be found in many rocks.


Also more recent settlers felt that the desert deserves some art. The figures below were carved out of solid quartz granite boulders during the Depression by an out-of-work engineer named W.T. Ratliffe.



My second visit in February to the desert was together with some colleagues and friends. We camped at a remote place and were telling stories until late at night, assembled around a campfire (I am sitting at the very left).


Another highlight in February was a trip to Seattle, visiting some friends. Below is the view from my friend's house on Vashon Island toward Mount Rainier, a sleeping volcano overlooking Seattle. My trip was just two weeks before Seattle was hit by a major earth quake - 6.8 on the Richter scale. Thanks to rigorous construction regulations, most houses erected in Seattle over the past 25 years were built to withstand strong earthquakes. Also the house of my friend was not damaged. However, my friend told me that the quake lasted one full minute, which probably felt like eternity.


On Sunday, we went to downtown Seattle attending a concert (Mahler's "Tragic" symphony) performed in the Benaroya Music Hall by the Seattle Symphony. Before the performance, the conductor Gerard Schwarz gave a quite interesting 45-minute lecture about Mahler and his masterpiece.


The next highlight in February was a trip to Durango, Colorado, where I met another friend for skiing. We spend three days in the Durango Mountain Resort. It was snowing during much of the time and I needed almost a snorkel to avoid suffocation.


The snow was soft. So I was enjoying some air time:


As mentioned in some previous Updaters, Southern California offers some excellent skiing, just few miles from Los Angeles. In March, I went once to Snow Summit and twice to Mount Baldy. The latter is really a gem with lots of steep runs and plenty of tree skiing. Below is the view from one of Mount Baldy's chair lifts:


There were tons of snow and the trees looked most scenic. It's hard to believe that the beach is just a one hour drive away.


Later in March an old windsurfing friend from Germany was visiting me. Judging by his face, he isn't quite used to American breakfast yet.


End of March, I went with him and some colleagues once more to Anza-Borrego. We did some serious off-road driving. It's quite fun, except for the car.


When my friend once got out of the car to take a picture he almost stepped on a rattle snake. It was a big one; maybe 5-6 cm in diameter. Fortunately, it preferred hiding beneath a rock rather than biting my friend. But hearing the snake rattling was really a thrilling experience.

We also found other weird looking creatures in the desert, like this horned lizard, which is rather common:


Last but not least another example of Anza-Borrego's interesting vegetation: a young barrel cactus.


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