Stare down a serpent in
BORREGO SPRINGS
Meander for more than an hour in Borrego Springs and you’re sure to encounter one of Ricardo Breceda‘s beasts. That’s good.
Breceda, a Southern California sheet-metal sculptor commissioned by local philanthropist Dennis Avery, has since 2008 placed about 130 metal works in the flatlands around the hamlet of Borrego Springs, a getaway for desert lovers who think Palm Springs and Joshua Tree are way too busy. Breceda’s works include dinosaurs, a scorpion the size of a Subaru and the artist’s magnum opus, a fearsome, whiskered, halfsubmerged serpent of the sand.
That 350-foot-long serpent — actually a medley of five segments rising from the sand — lies along Borrego Springs Road, 2.3 miles north of Christmas Circle. For a sculpture map, stop by the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Assn. store near Christmas Circle.
Before or after beast-hunting, lie low at Casa del Zorro, cruise along Palm Canyon Drive (Borrego Springs’ main drag), get a cool beverage at Carlee’s or see what’s on the walls at the Borrego Art Institute. Then take a hike.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California’s largest, surrounds Borrego Springs. Most hikers head first for the Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail (three miles round-trip), whose palm grove is handsome, though recovering from an arson fire in early 2020. There are campgrounds for tent people and RV people. Nonhikers browse the park visitor center and check out the desert pupfish in the pond at the Palm Canyon trailhead. Photographers rise early and take their four-wheel-drive vehicles up a four-mile dirt road to catch the sunrise badlands panorama from Font’s Point.
BONUS TIP: The stars after dark may amaze you. Borrego is one of about 40 locales globally to be designated an International Dark Sky Community, a prime place for stargazing and night-sky photography.
ist extravaganza that is Fisherman’s Wharf. Fare is $8 one-way in advance (which is a poor value) or $13 for a one-day Muni Visitor Passport through the MuniMobile app. Alas, that passport won’t work on BART. But it will give you a day of travel on cable cars, historic streetcars and other Muni and
Muni Metro transit.
For the story on how your ride traces back to 1873 and a man named Andrew Hallidie, head to the free Cable Car Museum in the old WashingtonMason powerhouse and car barn on Nob Hill.
BONUS TIP: For a mellower ride with fewer tourists and great views down to the Bay Bridge, try the California Street line. And if you get hungry, the Tadich Grill (240 California St.) calls itself the oldest continuously operating restaurant in California. It began as a coffee stand run by Croatian immigrants in 1849. Now it specializes in seafood, especially cioppino. Lunch and dinner on weekdays. Dinner on Saturday. Closed on Sunday.