We left Coyote Mountain in Anza-Borrego State Park yesterday.
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Goodbye to our awesome dispersed site at Anza-Borrego |
We headed out of town to the sight of gathering clouds, a few raindrops, and higher elevations. Forty-five minutes later we were in the little quaint town of Julian (elevation: three thousand and something feet) where it rained, and was so foggy and cold that we had to change out of our shorts, dig out the sweaters from the bottom of the closet, and put away the flip-flops. It was all worth it though; Julian is known for their apples, and for their outstanding Apple Pie. We also bought Apple-shaped Cookies. And Apple Nut Bread. Here's what's left of the pie today (notice we've foregone the plates):
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Dutch Crunch Julian Apple Pie from the Julian Pie Company |
Driving through rain and fog, searching for a place to spend the night, we traveled higher and higher, through Cleveland National Forest. Oak trees, pines, and shrubs shared space with majestic rock outcroppings, and the changing autumn colors were beautiful! We found a free campground just past a town called Mt. Laguna and thought we might camp, until we fired up the laptop to check the weather forecast - snow. Snow! It turns out that we were at over 5,000 ft., and anything like warm desert weather was just a fond memory. We pressed on. A few hours later we were in Yuma, Arizona, where we spent the night.
Today we reached our destination of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; we're staying at the Twin Peaks (nothing like the t..v. show) Campground, where we hope to do some nice hikes. We're very close to Mexico ("I can see it from my front porch").
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View from our campsite |
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An Organ Pipe Cactus |
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A Saguaro Cactus |