Often, when I feel the need to visit the desert (which usually means an overnight stay at least), and I don't have a lot of time, I will set out for Desert Gardens. More or less, depending on what I see to distract me, the walk from the end of the blacktop takes about an hour. Often I arrive just after dark. If I am lucky, the moonlight lights my way as I find a campsite and set up my tent.
One evening, I unpacked the piece of chicken I had bought at a deli that afternoon for my supper. In the darkness an owl suddenly appeared. When he realized that I was attached to the chicken, he halted in mid-flight and quickly changed course.
Desert Gardens is a lovely garden of ocotillo, cactus, and other desert plants. As with any garden, the thing to do is to walk around and look at the plants which often include a stray wildflower or two at the base of the mountain ridge. Sometimes you many find some birds, animals and other creatures, too, such as the scorpion I photographed one afternoon while it was crossing the jeep trail. While I would not recommend touching one, the scorpions in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are not known to be poisonous.
I drove to Desert Gardens late one afternoon not long ago intending to spend the night. It was very windy, and there were dust clouds in the air. There must have been insects in the air, too, because I observed a couple of nighthawks trying to fly against the wind and apparently also finding bugs to eat. Scenes like this, with birds or animals struggling to find something to eat out there, only increase my respect for any creature who can call the desert home.
You can reach Desert Gardens by walking the soft sands of the jeep road, or you perhaps can find firmer footing if you take a straighter and shorter path merely by walking straight across the desert. The trailhead for the Alcoholic Pass trail, another recommended walk, is in the southern end of Desert Gardens.
