SuperBloom 2017 in the Anza-Borrego Desert

[bruceh]

Last weekend we drove our other RV (motorhome) out to the Anza-Borrego desert and Ocotillo Wells area to do some camping and riding. The wildflowers here are in full bloom after lots of winter rains. I took lots of photos at ground level here.

Today my daughter, who is here on Spring Break from grad school at University of Utah, wanted to go do some flying. We headed over the mountains east of us to see the waterfalls in the backcountry, and into the desert to see what we could find from the air. She took the photos while I just flew from here to there and everywhere in between. Anza-Borrego is a very big place and we were able to see quite a bit from the RV-9A in about 1.5 hours. Weather was perfect for flying, but definitely warm in the desert (88F OAT at 6pm).

Her photos are here.

We had to get the flight in today, since the airplane is going into the paint shop tomorrow and will be down for a while.

[Vlad]

Nice photo gallery Bruce! From your pictures I can not center my bearings how far were you from Ocotillo Wells airport?

[bruceh]

We buzzed right over Ocotillo Wells (L90) and did a low pass. I haven't landed there (yet). There's not much there to do since the little diner/cantina burned down. There is a bar close by -- The Iron Door, if you want a drink. I have landed at Salton Sea (SAS) airport once.

I've been riding motorcycles and ATV's out there since I was 12 years old. I know all of that area like the back of my hand. It never gets boring since the area is so vast and always changing. Lots of interesting stuff to see -- fossils, mud pots, wells, springs, caves, military stuff from WWII, etc. There are a couple of fire hydrants placed out there for fun, along with a phone booth, and there is also a parking meter to find (most of these are co-located with geocaches).

[David Paule]

A long time ago, I flew a Champ out over the western edge of the Mojave during peak wildflower season after an unusually wet winter. I flow low and slow, of course. I spent over an hour just lazily flying circles over the desert, and still remember how beautiful that was. And it was more than 40 years ago.

Dave