The summer solstice being now behind us, the days once again growing longer, it’s time to think about a trip to the desert, right? Yeah, yeah, I know the hottest days out in Anza-Borrego are yet to come (temperatures are barely breaking the century mark this week, whereas they may approach 120 in July and August). But I’ve found the summer is a great time to take out-of-towners there (particularly waaaaay out-of-towners, e.g. Europeans). Hotels are cheaper, and provided you’re staying someplace with AC and/or a pool, the uber-heat can be otherworldly. In a good way.
Ricardo Breceda
Whenever you next get out there, be sure to pay attention to the wonderful addition to Borrego Springs’ landscape — the 70 or more gigantic metal sculptures erected over the past few years on open fields all over the town. The collection of mostly prehistoric animals includes elephants, saber-tooth tigers, tortoises, giant camels, sloths, mammoths, giant birds, wild pigs, gomphotheriums, and more. For a recent story in the Reader, I interviewed the sculptor, Ricardo Breceda, and his patron, Borrego Springs property owner Dennis Avery, and wrote about how the unlikely art project came about. Though Avery says the last sculpture has been installed, I predict the collection will grow in fame over time and eventually rank as one of our local desert’s major attractions.
The website for Galleta Meadows (Avery’s name for his desert holdings) has additional info.
They are amazing sculptures. Your photos show them well.