Sunday, March 23, 2014

Good Samaritans Came to Our Rescue

As we were driving into Borrego Springs on Thursday we noticed some wonderful sculptures in the desert near town. We decided we would come back for a better look when we were not driving the Alfa, which is what we did after our Ghost Mountain hike. 



This Columbian Mammoth was simply joyful in its expression.















There were many horse-like critters, but because I had once done a sculpture of a prehistoric horse, I realized that from the shape of their heads and their upright manes they were extinct, not modern equine.

All were in very active poses. 



On the other side of the road some Sabertooth tigers were hunting them.


There was also an Aiolornis in its nest with chicks all silently squawking below. 

The feather detail was incredible.






We wondered what the story was behind this marvelous display. We did see a sign that said "Galleta Meadows Estate", but no other attributes.

Our day continued with a pleasant walk on the grass of Christmas Circle in the center of town. I'm limiting the number of pictures I include because internet access is so slow at the park. While there we noticed the Art Center across the street and walked over to ask about the sculptures in the desert.

There are many articles about them on the internet, but I think this one best summarizes their beginnings. At the Art Center we picked up a free Village Guide with a map to the locations of some of the 130 sculptures in the valley.


After a short mid-day rest in the coach, we again set out by car to see more of the ones located along CR3, a well-paved county highway. Over the years many cars have driven off the road and into the desert to get a better look at them.  We did too.

After our morning off-the-pavement experience, we became more confident about driving on the sand as the day went by.


We were able to drive right up to them, park, and view them up close.










[From Craig] The full-frame image was better, but Merikay cropped her butt out of this version!



















The ground around these two was more like concrete than sand. 


But on the other side of the road, when we drove in to see the Sloths, the sand was much looser.

So loose that as we started to drive along one of the well-worn paths, the front wheels of our Accent sunk into the sand.

We were stuck.  Craig started digging into his wallet for his Coachnet card when two men and two women from another car came over to offer assistance.

With five people pushing and one driving we managed to get free.  Thank goodness for Good Samaritans!  It might have taken all day to get a tow from Coachnet! We actually got a little stuck a second time, but were soon assisted to more firm ground.  We thanked them and they said they were just glad we were in front of them because they would have gone the same way and it may have been harder to get their larger car out of the sand trap.


We looked at several more sculptures and ended the day at my favorite, the Sea Serpent. His body extends quite far with the road crossing his middle.


The detail work on his face and scales was outstanding! I'm 5'7" tall, so this hump has to be more than 15' tall and the head much larger than that!





One of the things I think we are going to enjoy about full-timing, rather than simply taking vacations, is the time we will have.  We are here for a week, and will be back out another day to see more of the sculptures just a little way up the road. There is a Peccary, a Giant Tortoise, and Velociraptor that we want to see.  If we were just on vacation, we might pass on them because we had less time.

To quote other bloggers, RV life is good.

14 comments:

  1. Very cool! Glad you weren't stuck for long!

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  2. Glad there were folks around to help you out. I love those sculptures and we have never been there to see them.

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  3. Cool header, and get a load of that big blue sky!

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  4. Whew! So glad good people were there to help you!

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  5. So glad to hear that you weren't driving the Alfa when you got stuck in the sand. Yay for the help provided by the Good Samaritans! Great pictures of the sculptures!

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  6. Like that header photo. We always enjoy those Sculptures every time we are in Borrego Springs. There is even a Jeep sculpture among all those scary creatures & watch carefully for the group picking grapes. The Sculpture pickers that is. We have never been stuck yet but have helped others in the area to get un-stuck. We carry a heavy duty tow strap in the Jeep now in case we come across anyone with wheels buried. Might want to get yourself on up to Julian for some pie.

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  7. We dearly love, love, love those sculptures! There is an orange / grapefruit grove near there.... wonderful, wonderful fruit! And the price is soooo reasonable. We will be there on Thursday to get our fruit and be at the Farmer's Market on the circle, Friday. You will probably be gone. rats!

    We purchased the best honey we have ever had there on Christmas Circle at the Farmer's market, last year. We split the honey with our daughter, but this year////we are just buying one for us and one for Jojo....we ran ou of honey in six months and were so sad. I refused to purchase honey anywhere else.

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  8. this is not the first time I have seen photos of the sculptures but each and every time I know it's something that we will add to our list of 'must see's..
    glad you got some help getting out of the sand!!

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  9. While we haven't seen these really interesting sculptures it's amazing how many places around the country there are sculptures similar to these.
    Glad you weren't stuck for long and yes life is good.

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  10. I love those sculptures... would love to see them up close. Glad you got help... and so fast, too!

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  11. Those sculptures are amazing.

    You were lucky to have found some good Samaritans.

    Craig....of course Merikay cropped her butt out of the picture. That's what we do.

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  12. The sculptures are fantastic!

    I wonder if keeping a little piece of carpet in the car might help if you get stuck again and there aren't good folks around?

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  13. Those sculptures are neat, added to our list

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  14. We recently had the chance for an over night stay in Borrego Springs and i remembered that you had headed there in the spring, and checking your post here confirmed what a great idea that would be, So glad we did, as part of our southern route home on a road trip (just us and the CRV, no RV in our lives but we can appreciate what your Alpha has helped you discover:-)

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