So today I thought I would show you one of my sketches. It’s a small thing, no more than 4 x 6 or so… but this is just something I was doing to pass the time. Its a sketch of a Desert Bighorn Sheep. Last year about this time, we went to Anza-Borrego Springs area. I went horseback riding and then went with my husband for a hike. The visitor’s center said that some hikers has spotted the sheep just a short while ago, so our chances for spotting the sheep would be easy enough. They weren’t wrong. We spotted a small family of them not more than 200 feet away, eating near the creek, which was running. I’m not sure of the trail name, but it was wonderful! I think the hike took us maybe 30 minutes or so back into a palm grove of trees. Although the weather was warm, the shade was fantastic, and a breeze came out of nowhere, and made the hike completely worth while.
From what I remember from the visitor’s center, Anza-Borrego Desert National Park is one of the largest in the U.S. The park was named after Juan Batista de Anza, a Spanish explorer, who also named the sheep in the area the Borrego Sheep, meaning “big horn.”
In the past, we have also seen roadrunners, a golden eagle and of course mule deer. Supposedly kit foxes, iguanas, chuckwallas, and a red-diamond rattlesnake exist in this area, but that I haven’t seen.
If you ever get into the area, which is near San Diego, CA don’t miss the opportunity to visit…the area is especially beautiful when all of the wildflowers are out.
Defining the West 