California Official Visitor's Guide 2009 - (Page 18) discover » romance » anza-borrego desert Get away from it all at Anza-Borrego solitude A romantic escape means reducing the world to just two people. And where better to do that than the desert? At Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, you’re surrounded by 600,000 acres of, well, almost nothing. But the nothing that is there is truly spectacular and a perfect framework for romance. Walk together up Borrego Palm Canyon, and stroll past thorny ocotillos to an oasis of fan palms whose trunks, sheathed in skirts of fronds, resemble Hawaiian hula dancers. Beyond the beautiful and romantic scenery, Anza-Borrego is a realm of raw grit, rock summits, and rain-cut canyons (reminders that thousands of years ago there was a vast lake here). Yet an unexpected number of living things survive in this sere landscape, including bighorn sheep, nearly 60 other types of mammals, and 225 species of birds. A great way to explore is via Erosion Road, where you can see the huge scale of the desert: alluvial fans spreading from mountain ranges to the desert floor, and Fonts Point, where you can put your arms around each other and watch the sun set over the Borrego Badlands. In California, the state parks are known for their beauty, not their gastronomic possibilities. Yet Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is a rare exception: the nearby Red Ocotillo whips up a fine breakfast and lunch. For dinner, The Krazy Coyote, in the Palms Hotel (a mid-century Modern architectural classic) at Indian Head, serves upscale fare. Take your sweetheart and toast each other with martinis. Another must-see is Borrego Springs, a funky town with so little traffic you could lie down on the main road and not get hit. For lodging, try the unmistakably romantic La Casa del Zorro Desert Resort & Spa, a luxury oasis with whitewashed casitas, sparkling pools, and a spa that will massage you with essential oils and heated desert stones (try the Cactus Tea Sugar Scrub to give desert-dry skin a boost) [ desert wellness]. For more things to do together in the park, go to www.parks. ca.gov/?page_id=638. JERRY CAMARILLO DUNN LAURA FLIPPEN 18 Enter keyword in Search box at visitcalifornia.com http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638 http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638 http://www.visitcalifornia.com
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