Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

©Bert Gildart: Picture stories come in many forms and in the case of the ones shown here, occurred in one of the nation’s most spectacular settings: the Borrego Badlands as seen from Font’s Point in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

The setting was made particularly interesting when four women began oooo-ing and ahhing as they peered over the ledge and down onto the rugged terrain represented by the Borrego Badlands.

Awed by what they see, the natural response is to immortalize the experience with photography, which the four ladies then proceeded to do.

Though I was located some distance from the women their body language telegraphed their feelings, and I quickly mounted a 400mm telephoto lens onto my Nikon D300, then clicked off a series of images. At the time I thought I was being discreet, but later two of the women made the 100-yard hike from their overlook to my overlook. Smiling, they asked if I’d been taking photos of them, and when I showed them the images, they asked if I’d be so kind as to email several to them.

“PRIVILEGED TO SEE SUCH SCENERY”

The ladies all thought the view was spectacular and it certainly is. They were happy they said, to have been privileged to see such spectacular scenery, such an incredible manifestation of erosion. But the panoramic view also tells a little about this largest of all contiguous state parks in California. Facing south, your gaze embraces Mexico, just 25 miles away. It encompasses Borrego Springs to the west and the Salton Sink with its Salton Sea to the east. Turning around, your gaze falls on the Santa Rosa Mountains to the north. In other words, it’s spectacular which ever way you look.

 

Not only is the view point scenic, but it is also historic and has immense palenontological importance. In 1775 Pedro Font was the chaplain and navigator on Spain’s second expedition from Tubac, Mexico to Mission San Gabriel in California. The expedition was led by Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, for whom this park was named.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

From the palenontological perspective, these badlands have been an immense repository of fossils to include the ground sloth, short-faced bear, dire wolf, sabertooth cat, mastodon, mammoth, giant zebra, half-ass, camel, yesterday’s camel, llama, giant camel, pronghorn, elk, deer, shrub oxen, and the Bautista horse. In other words, a trip to Font’s Point may well offer a little something for everyone.

It did for these four ladies, and it certainly did for me.

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THIS TIME TWO YEARS AGO:

*Mojave Preserve

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 9:18 am and is filed under Natural History/Conservation, Photography, RV Travel, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.