Swimming Pools, Dinosaurs and Bicycles - Day 1

In this post: Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, Circle of Art, Stanlunds Resort Inn & Suites

Map/Directions
Borrego Springs Weather

The desert isn’t for everyone. To some the desert is a beautiful, mysterious, enchanting seductress; to others it’s just a bunch of dirt, rocks and weeds… or even less. My observation is, “There’s no learning to like the desert. You either like it or you don’t.” Janet and I happen to love the desert and the Anza-Borrego region of California’s low desert has long been our favorite desert destination.

Downtown Borrego Springs... it's a really small town!

The hub of the region is Borrego Springs, a very small town surrounded by California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. On this trip, our first destination was the annual Borrego Springs outdoor art show, the Circle of Art. There seemed to be fewer artists exhibiting this year, but the quality was impressive, as usual, and there weren't many duplicated mediums so the variety was still good.

Stanlunds

Following the art show, the next two things on our agenda were, scouting out potential bike routes for tomorrow and checking in at Stanlunds Resort Inn and Suites. We didn’t expect to find any dedicated bike lanes or bike paths in the area, so our scouting trip was mainly to satisfy ourselves that the local 2-lane paved roads had wide enough shoulders for safe biking. We were quickly satisfied on that point and, as it turns out, the road right in front of Stanlunds actually has a bike lane. Cool.

If we’re not camping out, our idea of a place to stay in the desert is a place that doesn’t isolate the guests from the desert in an artificial environment; we’re not afraid of the desert. Stanlunds looked like a place that would suit us just fine; simple, casual, cozy, quiet and content to let the desert play the starring role in anyone’s stay. Our room had a small kitchen and private patio and, like every room at Stanlunds, was close to the pool and BBQ area.