by hatfield13

Night in the Desert

My blog’s been quiet for the past week because I was in San Diego on a family vacation.  It was an incredible week in so many ways, but this was the highlight…


I was lucky enough to spend last Monday, the night of the total lunar eclipse, camping in the middle of Anzo-Borrego Desert State Park.  Before we left, we found California Overland online and learned that they were offering an overnight desert trip with astronomer Dennis Mammana on the night of the eclipse.   I took this picture just as the moon was rising over the mountains on our way to the campsite.

This is Joe from California Overland.

Joe is every bit as cool as he looks and is one of my family’s new favorite people.  He organized our trip, cooked our meals, set up our tents, and was an amazing tour guide for the stunning alien landscape he calls home.  Our tour started with a drive in a refurbished military vehicle to a spectacular spot called Font’s Point, overlooking the Anzo Borrego Badlands.  Joe walked us partway up a hill, then said, “Look down at your feet now, and keep walking toward my voice.  Don’t look up until I tell you to.”  We trusted Joe by then, so we did this.   When he told us to look up, we were at the edge of a cliff looking out at this view.

As the sun went down and the moon came up, we headed to our campsite, near an old homestead that’s been swallowed up by sand dunes and tamarack trees.  The tents were already set up, and Joe started cooking dinner.  Joe, it turns out, is a better cook in the middle of the desert than I am in my own fully-equipped kitchen.  Without running water or electricity or anything but an open fire, he whipped up grilled steak, herb-rubbed salmon, roasted corn on the cob, and a beautiful salad with greens and goat cheese.  I like food a lot, so Joe was especially my hero then.

Astronomer Dennis Mammana joined us for dinner and then went off to set up his telescope away from the light of the fire.  When the lunar eclipse started in the early hours of the morning, we dozed in a circle of camp chairs around the telescope and took turns snapping pictures through its lens.

The full moon lit the desert so completely that we didn’t need flashlights when it first came up, but as the eclipse began, that light faded into a darkness blacker than any sky I’ve ever seen. 

And then there were stars.  Stars like I’ve never even imagined.  Anzo Borrego has been named one of the best star-watching spots in the country, and now I know why.  Dennis turned his telescope every few minutes to point out something new.  Jupiter with four moons clearly visible.  The Andromeda Galaxy.  And my favorite… The Orion Nebula, where new stars are born.  And of course, all the while, there was the moon…

This was my last eclipse photo…taken after a 4am hike through the sand with Joe and my son, looking for scorpions and sidewinders.  We didn’t find any but enjoyed the quiet  and the stars all the same.  At about 5:30 the need for a little sleep won out over my desire to see the rest of the moon appear. 

When the sun came up, I took a walk away from the campsite a bit to check out the desert plants and see if I could find that elusive scorpion.  Here’s a shot looking back at our tents. 

After a breakfast of toast, turkey bacon, and omelets with fresh vegetables, it was time to take down the tents.   And guess who scuttled out from underneath our tent when we started folding it up…

My 11-year-old has wanted to see a scorpion ever since he read about desert animals when he was four or five, so this guy’s appearance made his trip complete.

The kids were still itching to do some hiking, so the amazing Joe was kind enough to take us on a bonus trip to one of Anzo Borrego’s incredible slot canyons. 

The sandstone walls were just a couple feet apart in places, so this was like no other trail I’ve ever hiked.  The temperature had crept up to 113 by the time we made it into the canyon, so we stopped often to find shade and drink water.  It gave me a dramatic appreciation for how extreme the desert can be and a true respect for the wildlife and plants that survive in this climate.

As I type this, I’m back home at my desk, getting ready for the start of school in a couple days. 

Fall comes early to the Champlain Valley.  We woke up to a crisp 42-degrees today, so the desert dust and heat are miles and memories away. 

But last night, when I realized I’d forgotten to get the mail, I stepped out into the dark.  I looked up at the stars, fighting with our streetlights, and a part of me slipped away, back to my camp chair in Anzo-Borrego, home of the sky and the scorpions, and the stars.

28 Replies on “Night in the Desert”

  2. That was an AMAZING AMAZING post!! If I wouldn’t lose my entire interview w/ Carrie Jones I’d post a link to this–thank you for sharing the experience; we were so bummed we didn’t set the alarm to see the eclipse and we love stuff like this: slot canyons, gourmet desert chefs like Joe, and scorpians. My question is this: how will you ever get back to normal life without Joe???

    THANK YOU!!
    Heidi

  5. Thanks for your comment! I loved taking these photos and was excited to share them. And maybe you had to be there, but the scorpion was too beautiful to be scary.

  6. Thanks, Heidi. My family was quick to point out the steak I grilled for dinner last night wasn’t quite up to Joe’s standards. Ah, well…

    And thanks for the tip on your interview with Carrie. I loved TIPS and enjoy her blog, so I’ll be sure to read it!

  7. Thanks for your comment! It really was an incredible night. I was excited that so many of my photos came out, so I’m thrilled that you enjoyed them.

  10. Wonderful photos. Thanks for posting them. I’d wanted to see the eclipse, but live in the wrong area.
    Enjoy your fall weather- our leaves are already turning red.

  12. Beautiful pictures! I know the Smokies pretty well. But aside from honeymooning in Colorado 16 years ago, I haven’t been out west. It looks fabulous.

  13. thanks-i’ll have it up today or tomorrow. the interview series is so much fun!

    we went on a 3 day boat trip on the great barrier reef and i remember loving our crew so much—such spirits those guys have that spend their life in nature like that

  22. It’s hard to believe that this landscape is part of the same country as the eastern forests, isn’t it? We had that same conversation on the plane on our way home.

  24. Wait – I bet I know which book you just bought. Was it Sarah Miller’s MISS SPITFIRE about Helen Keller’s teacher Annie Sullivan? Mine is just SPITFIRE, and it’s about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to fight in a Revolutionary War naval battle on Lake Champlain. I just started reading Sarah’s book, too, and I’m loving it so far.

  27. I’m currently living in the SoCal desert just north of El Centro, and temperatures like 113 are normal for this time of the year. It’s bearable unless there’s humidity, whereupon it gets absolutely arg-y.

    I hadn’t even known there was going to be an eclipse until I went to work and noticed the moon looking strange. I’ve seen enough lunar eclipses to know what I was seeing but honestly I’d never seen a red moon before, or remembered how bright the edge of the moon looks when just a sliver is lit. It was just fascinating and made me sad I couldn’t sit and watch it because I was already late for work.

    Btw, hope you don’t mind I added you as a friend. 😀

  28. Thanks for your comment – and I never mind a new friend!

    I don’t know how you go outside regularly in those kinds of temperatures. I live in the Northeast, and this is my favorite time of year, when I can enjoy my morning run in 40-50 degree weather.

    And yes, the moon was incredible that night. I was so sleepy and kept thinking I’d go to bed, but then I wanted to see how it changed. I ended up with 45 minutes of sleep the night before the canyon hike!