We came for the Flowers and Stayed for the Sculptures

Borrego Springs is a small resort village in the middle of Anza-Borrego State Park about 25 miles west of the Salton Sea in California.
The first time we were there was near the end of February, 2005.

The whole winter had been rainy and the flowers flourished.
This year there had been about 4.8 inches of rain since July 1 but then there was an extended dry period and then a deluge of rain in mid-February. Too little – too late.  Even the creosote and the brittle bush were struggling to produce green leaves. 
Our viewing of flowers was limited to a few cactus flowers and others cultivated shrubs around the Visitors Centers.

Cholla

Ocotillo

Fairy DusterPrickly Pear

We knew that our chances of seeing wild-flowers was slim but we did want to re-explore the metal sculptures we had discovered then.

The collection has expanded from just a few renderings of pre-historic animals and historic Borrego figures to about 130 sculptures scattered over 30 sites throughout the 3000 acre Galleta Meadows owned by Dennis Avery (the grandson of the Avery Office Supplies who died just a couple of years ago). His philosophy was . . . “Blessings are meant to be shared”. And he commissioned Ricardo Breceda to create the sculptures.

Here are just a few of our favourites! (Fred is hoping to put together a Slide Show with many more  of the sculptures).

 

The Scorpion and the Grasshopper share the same site. In life the nocturnal Scorpion lays in wait for its prey-the grasshopper.

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The sun and the abundance of water in the area led to the development of vineyards. The water and thus the vineyards both disappeared but the sculptures of the workers remain as a reminder.

These Camelops roamed the area and are ancient descendants of the camel. The are called Camelops because the limbs on each side moved in conjunction with one another.

Not a reproduction of a pre-historic animal but a 350 foot imaginary creature with the tail of a rattlesnake, the body of a serpent and the head of a Chinese Dragon. It’s huge and winds under the road.

 

This canine accompanies the sculpture of Pedro Font who was considered a spiritual leader of the mid 1770’s expeditions to California.

 

Three of the 6 flight-capable Wind God birds in North America were found in the Anza-Borrego area. The bird had a 17 ft wing span and stood 4 ft high. It existed about 3.5 million years ago. The sculpture is about twice the original size.

These horses became extinct approximately 11,000 years ago.