Paradise in Hell: Hellhole Canyon, Anza Borrego

man sitting on rocks

A week or two ago, while discussing socially distanced ways we could celebrate Thanksgiving, my girlfriend and I decided the best thing to do would be to take a camping trip.

Once we agreed on a location (just outside Yuma, AZ) we started going through our normal planning motions of finding a good camp site, making sure we have the right supplies, etc etc.

As we were doing all this planning we naturally started to get very excited about our upcoming trip, when we both came to the sad realization that it was still a couple weeks away!

Rather than sit around patiently waiting for Thanksgiving, we once again decided to take an impromptu trip to help satiate our desire.  This time out to Anza Borrego State Park.

sunrise in Anza Borrego

There are a couple cool things about Anza Borrego.  First, you don’t need a permit, so for back country campers like us it was great being able to just pull off to the side of the road, grab our gear, and start hiking.

We found a nice peak by a primitive camp ground, which gave us incredible 360 degree views of the local scenery.

view of campground
view of campground from another angle

The second cool thing is that unlike J Tree, you’re allowed to make a fire as long as it’s in an elevated container.  I had been meaning to pick up a firepit from REI, so before we got to the park we stopped by our local REI for a quick (and super easy) curbside pickup.

fire at night

The temperature wasn’t too hot during the day and the fire kept us nice and warm during the night.

And while the sunset was great…  

tent under the sunset
Sunset

…the real star of the show was the sunrise!

legs crossed inside tent during sunrise
Sunrise

Overall the trip was great and we can’t wait to get back out there.  In the meantime I’ll be resting my body and getting ready for Yuma in a couple days!

Until next time, y’all – Derek signing off.  Over and out!

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