Fun in the Sun Road Trip – Days 10 – 15 – High Desert Country

I start with an addendum to our previous post while staying at Pismo Beach State Park. Not to beat a dead horse, but we really like that park and would definitely return one day. As mentioned, we played golf on the 9-hole par 3 state park course next door, and while windy, it was good to shake out the cobwebs since being golfless all winter. We also took a super 1 mile r/t walk down a boardwalk that meanders along the beach south of the campground. Along the trail is also a stop at a monarch butterfly nesting area among a grove of cypress trees.  

Pismo Beach State Park is really huge as we discovered. It has two formal campgrounds, Oceano and North Beach (where we stayed), plus you can camp right along the beach in an area 1 mile south. Be warned… this is also a dunebuggy/quad heaven, so there are ATVs everywhere as well and several companies renting them. It was very windy along the beach too, so people camping had all kinds of wind block arrangements behind their RVs. 

After three fun camping days, we journeyed south through the big city to Riverside, CA and stayed at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park, which was a nice surprise*. Very large grounds with two fishing lakes, two camping areas and lots of trails and paths, plus a mini golf course. We rate this campground a solid 9. That night we met brother/sis in law Dan and Diane for a fine BBQ dinner.

*That night, while relaxing in the trailer watching a movie, Tucker starts barking and tears after something. We know because the trailer nearly tipped over when he reached the end of his leash. Seconds later we smell a skunk. Low and behold Tucker got sprayed a little on the chest, so at 11pm at night we had to trek to a grocery and buy ingredients for de-skunking, which are: 1 qt Hydrogen Peroxide, 1/4c baking soda, and 1 tsp detergent. We used the outside nozzle on the trailer and washing him down the best we could. The next day we left Jurupa and only smelled a little skunk…. or maybe we were getting used to it.

We traveled south of Riverside and entered Anza-Borrego State Park from the west side. At one point we were at an elevation of over 4000’, and thinking jeeez this camping is going to be cold.. but then we came to the edge of the Culp Valley, driving down an incredible winding road with beautiful views to borrego Springs, elevation about 500’. Borrego Springs Palm Canyon state park campground is just out of town nestled among gorgeous hills. We camped in the dry area site 70 which looks out at the hills with lots of privacy. There are water spigots everywhere as well as hot showers and nice restrooms within easy walking distance. They also have a hookup area, but the sites are relatively close together. We rate this campground a “10” for beauty and will definitely be coming back here again. 

We played golf one day at a local par 3 course and really enjoyed it. We visited a spectacular RV golf resort called Springs at Borrego Canyon and inquired about rates. Monthly rates in high season Jan-Mar are $1500-$2000 and they said some people make reservation 5 years in advance. We also took some drives and short hikes and saw some great scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We liked Anza Borrego some much we stayed an extra night (4 total), and would have stayed longer if we could, but they didn’t have a space for us. Next stop … Quartzsite, AZ for some dry camping on BLM land.