The Springs at Borrego
Newsletter



October 2017
 
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In This Issue:
October Events and Activities
Article Headline
%2nd Annual Borrego Days Desert Festival returns October 20-22
A Lesser Known Hike to Burk's Bench: Better than Font's Point?
 
It's October, and here at The Springs we are ready to rock and roll right into another fabulous season. Cool evenings and mornings have returned and so have the weekenders. Soon the snowbirds will be arriving so we are ramping up the activities. This month features our annual $50 camping weekend, the community-wide celebration Borrego Days Desert Festival, the first of our season series of star parties with astronomer Dennis Mammana, and a Photography Workshop with Master Photographer Sharon Lobel. 

Important dates to remember are the golf course closures for overseeding. The Springs Course will be closed until October 27, and the RoadRunner Course will close on October 9 and re-open on November 11. 

Call today to reserve your place in California's Secret Desert. Our reservation team is waiting to hear from you  at 760-767-0004 from 8 AM to 5 PM daily. Or, you can book online at our online booking engine  here .

Desert Lily
by Nicholas Clapp.
Courtesy of Anza Borrego Foundation
2017 Photo Contest

           
 October Events and Activities
Saturdays, October 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 10:30 AM
Walking in Water Exercise with Breta 


Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7.  $50 Camping Weekend.  Resort sites only $25 per night and premium sites only $35.  Join us for a grilled chicken dinner on Saturday the 7th - Only $10


Sunday, October 22 at 6:30 PM. Star Party with Astronomer Dennis Mammana. The first in our season series, this month's topic is "From Darkness Comes Light".  It's been said that 99% of all we know of the universe comes to us in the form of light, but there is much we discover not from light but rather the absence of light. Tonight we'll explore what we've learned - and what we have left to learn - from darkness itself.
 
Milky Way
 by Dennis Mammana

Wednesday, October 25, Star Trails Photography Workshop with Sharon Lobel
Have you ever wanted to learn how to capture these stunning star trail photos? J oin Master Photographer Sharon Lobel as we step into the amazing
Anza-Borrego Desert for this Star Trails Workshop!
Star Trails 
by Sharon Lobel.
Schedule:
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Sharon Lobel Photography Exhibit in the Torres Room
4:00 PM - One Hour Class followed by night time shoot on location.
RV Resort Guest $45.00 and General Public $95.00.  Must Pre-Pay to hold your seat (Limited Seating).
More information & details will follow once registered.

Recent sighting of Bighorn Sheep 
at the mouth of Palm Canyon.
Photographed by Shaun King

 
 
We hope to see you soon  in sunny and starry Borrego! 
   
Sincerely,

Dan Wright  
 
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    TourismBorrego Logo

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Borrego Springs is an
International Dark Sky Community


Quick Links 
Annual Borrego Days Desert Festival Returns: Family Fun All Over Town
October 20 - 22.

Saturday Morning's Parade will have four Marching Bands.

Borrego Days Desert Festival returns to Borrego Springs October 20-21 for the 52nd year in a row, bringing a huge parade on Saturday morning, live music all day Saturday and Sunday, food and arts and crafts vendors, a children's carnival and a beverage garden, all at Christmas Circle Park in the heart of the village.

Other events around town will be the Rotary's Annual Charity Breakfast Friday morning from 6:30- 9:30. Later on Friday (1-5 PM) There will be a series of presentations at The Performing Arts Center on the subject of the new Library and Park that will soon be built in Borrego Springs, and the organizers of the Bicycle Race that will be going through our area known as Race Across America (RAAM).

Friday evening is the opening party of the festival held at La Casa del Zorro, with entertainment by special to-be-announced performers. 

Saturday morning before the parade a series of demonstrations is planned by RAAM riders, the street luge and skateboarders of Xcorps TV, and race car champion drivers the Sexton Brothers of Borrego.


The Parade will kick off just before 11 AM with a flyover of around 20 vintage-to-modern aircraft, a 60-foot long USA flag with 100 people carrying it, and over 100 other entries, including four high school marching bands.

After the parade, the food vendors, arts and crafts vendors and the beverage garden will be open at Christmas Circle. Live entertainment begins at around 12:30 with the excellent band Spin Cycle starring Harry Joe Reynolds. 



Next up on the main stage, from 3 to 5:30 is Borrego's favorite dance band, Izon Eden starring Patty Holley and Dayton Borders.



Sunday,the entertainment begins at around 11 AM with the Borrego Springs Hip Hop Dance Troupe, perennial crowd-pleasing singer Angel Miguel de Millan at 11:30 or so, then Mariachi Estrella from 12 - 3 PM.



The weekend's entertainment will end with the amazing Marine Corps 3rd Wing Jazz and Rock Ba nds from 3-5 PM.






Fall Hike Suggestion: Burk's Bench
by The Canyoneers
from The San Diego Reader
The view from Font's Point is widely known as spectacular.
Some say Burk's Bench is even better.


Most folks who drive or hike up Fonts Point Wash head to the spectacular viewpoint 4.8 miles from Highway S-22. It is one of the most scenic and popular viewpoints in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which was named for  Pedro Font, a Spanish padre who was on the  second Anza Expedition to California in 1775-'76. The expedition brought the first colonists to California on a trail that crossed Borrego Valley en route to San Gabriel Mission from the Colorado River.

The sand, mudstone, and sedimentary rocks were once part of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Font was selected to join the expedition because of his navigation skills. He was not impressed with the area, with the leader of the expedition - Juan Bautista de Anza - or with the many colonists who planned to ultimately settle in the San Francisco Bay area. It seems odd that such a beautiful and dramatic landscape was named for someone who did not appreciate it. He was, however, observant and was the first to note the presence of desert bighorn sheep.

These sediments contain fossils of Pleistocene animals.
It may come as a surprise that there is another location with a view of the badlands from a different perspective and even a bench to sit upon to rest and to contemplate how this landscape evolved and how Fonts Point was uplifted. Best of all, it is only half the distance to this viewpoint.

The sand, mudstone, and sedimentary rocks were once part of the Santa Rosa Mountains more than 500,000 years ago. These sediments also contain fossils of Pleistocene animals, which include camels, horses, ground sloths, and mammoths. The eroded mountain sediments originally flowed down to the south until the area was uplifted. Fonts Point Wash now flows north toward Clark Valley, which is about 700 feet lower in elevation from Fonts Point.

From the parked vehicle in the main wash at 1.2 miles, follow a small wash heading right (south) for 0.6 mile, and then follow a fork to the right, or southwest, for another 0.3 mile for a surprising discovery-a bench atop a knoll about midway between Fonts Point Wash to the east and Inspiration Wash to the west. A short steep climb of 0.1 mile leads to the bench that has a plaque on it that commemorates the 1974 gift of 1600 acres of surrounding land from the Burks family.

Dana Burks was a Palm Springs and Los Angeles real estate developer who saw the potential of developing Borrego Valley. He purchased thousands of acres of land after the Great Depression. The slow economic recovery following the Depression made him lose interest in the area. His heirs still owned 1600 acres in 1974 when they decided to donate it to the state. The bench overlooks the donated lands. While sitting there, you might want to give thanks to those who donate lands to the state that are inholdings within the boundary of the park so that future generations can enjoy them.

After enjoying the view, retrace the mile hike back to the parked vehicle. If hiking to the bench from S-22, it will be a 4-mile trip.
An option to this walk is retracing your steps to the main Fonts Wash then turn right (south). Keep to the west wash branch to see Inspiration Point before going further to  Fonts Point.
Note: If driving, pick up your vehicle at the Burks Bench/Fonts Point wash intersection and drive south to the parking lot at Fonts Point. There may be a place to pull over at Inspiration Point. This is an active area for towing; we recommend both 4WD and experience driving on soft sand.

Distance from downtown San Diego: About 95 miles (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park). Allow 2 hours and 15 minutes driving time. First drive about 85 miles to Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs. From Christmas Circle, go east about 10 miles on the Salton Seaway, Highway SR-22, to Fonts Point Wash at milepost 29.3. Turn right into the broad, sandy wash. Drive south 1.2 miles and park by a small side canyon/wash to the right (west) that continues south. High clearance or 4WD recommended in the wash because of sand, or park at the entrance of Fonts Point Wash and walk to this point.

Hiking length: 2 or 4 miles out-and-back.

Difficulty: Moderate, with a steep climb to the bench. Elevation loss/gain 300 feet. No facilities. No dogs allowed on this route.

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