Anza Borrego Desert State Park: Box Canyon

Every few years when we visit friends and family over Christmas in southern California we stay a few days in Borrego Springs. Borrego Springs is a small resort community in the middle of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The first time I took my wife here she was shocked at how bleak and desolate it is. It is very desolate and dry. In winter however the weather is perfect for hiking. After some time she began to see the subtleties of the desert and now we both enjoy visiting and walking in the park.

My grandmother first introduced me to the desert. She lived north of Phoenix in the Sonoran desert and she had a great love for it. They lived on about 5 acres in a house with great big windows that brought the desert landscape into the house. My grandfather built a pond and waterfall that attracted wildlife from all over the desert. In addition to the rabbits, coyotes, mule deer, mountain lions, rattle snakes, and gila monsters my grandmother taught me the names of different cactus and trees.

Fast-forward to Anza Borrego we find ourselves in the Colorado Desert; distinct from the Mojave desert to the north and part of the Sonoran desert much further east. Though it is part of the Sonoran it is different enough for me from the deserts around Tucson and Phoenix. The ocotillos are often larger, the plant life more sparse generally, more smoke trees and other differences.

In any case the scenery is beautiful, the silence and isolation evokes a spiritual journey. Some people may never concede this area is beautiful but I am afraid they are wrong.
Four years ago I posted some prints from our visit then that focussed on the surprising palm tree oasis in some canyons in the park.

This time I had some nice photos from an area called Box Canyon which is where the old Butterfield stage coach route went on the southern stage route to California.These were all shot on my Rolleiflex 2.8f that I bought last summer in Japan. Having enjoyed twin lens reflex cameras like the Yashica Mat 124G and Mamiya C220 over the the years I decided to treat myself to a Rolleiflex. It is really a step up in terms workmanship and engineering and ease of use. The Yachica is much lighter and a little more compact. It has been a true workhorse which I would still recommend though. These photos were shot on Kodak TMX-100 developed in Ilford LC29.