anza borrego, ca.

one of my goals for february was to go on an adventure.  and one of our goals for 2014 was to go backpacking.  well, check & check.

andrew and i decided to get out of dodge and go on a much overdue backpacking adventure for a weekend in february.  backpacking is something that we love doing but for some reason, have neglected to make time for it over the years.  it is in fact, one of the first things andrew and i ever did together.

that being said, we opted to head to one of southern california's secret gems, anza-borrego.  anza-borrego is one of california's largest state parks.  granted, it's mostly a barren desert- but even deserts have their charms.

one of the coolest things about anza-borrego is that you could be walking for miles and miles in the sand & heat and as you turn a corner, you'll spy a palm tree...then another...and another!  soon, you'll be standing in a gorgeous stream surrounded by lush plants, smooth rocks & if you're lucky, little critters who make these streams their homes.  the diversity of the desert is amazing.

we backpacked for 2 nights and 3 days- each night staying near a stream so we had plenty of access to water (the less we had to carry, the better....water's really heavy!).  we woke to spectacular sunrises and heard coyotes in the evening.  we saw snakes & plenty of animal tracks.  we walked in silence & told each other stories by the stream beds.  it was wonderful to get lost in nature.  we loved every minute of it & can't wait to make plans to go backpacking again.