The life was a natural, but harsh one, and Marshall South made his living writing a series of articles about the desert and life therein which captured the imagination of many. Marshall’s essays and poetry described the desert like an artist would a favorite piece of art, and considering the intense problems his family was having with the rules he laid down about how life on Yaquitepec was to be, it appears that he was better writing about the desert than he was at living in it – in short, he was a storyteller of unsurpassed ability to paint a glowing portrait of the desert.

After trying to raise their three children on Yaquitepec, Tanya South had finally had enough by 1946, filed for divorce and left, never to return. Marshall’s health deteriorated quickly after losing his home and family so quickly, and he died in 1948 in Julian, where he is buried. Tanya lived to be almost 100 years of age, dying in 1997, refusing to the bitter end to talk about Marshall and her life on Yaquitepec. For more information on this dreamer who became trapped in the image he created in his stories, we suggest a hike out to Yaquitepec or click on Marshall South.

Way off at the end of Borrego Valley Road, about 5 miles out
of Borrego Springs, is a quaint little fruit stand that sells the Seley Red
grapefruit, among other things.  We personally think the Seley Reds are the best
grapefruit on the face of the earth, and look forward every year to when their
fruit stand opens for business.  The fruit stand is on the honor system, where
you drop $3.50 per bag into a metal collection box.  Our 5-year old son enjoys
climbing up on the stand, picking out the appropriate bags of fruit, then
dropping the money into the slot.  Usually you can also sample the citrus for
free, as there is a knife and one or two open bags of grapefruit, oranges,
tangerines or nectarines on a table nearby.

Its fun to pay for the fruit

We love the Seley Reds...

The latest of the Dennis Avery metal menagerie has appeared on Borrego Springs Road. The RattleDragon as we call it is over 300’ long, has the head of a dragon and the tail of a rattlesnake, and undulates on either side of the road out of the ground.

As a sculptor, Ricardo Breceda gets better with each animal, and the RattleDragon is the best yet. We thought that perhaps the Borrego metal zoo had seen the last addition, but considering the amount of time it must have taken to create this sculpture, we guess the Mr. Breceda was just working away at his studio for quite some time.    This will, however, be a hard act to follow.

To see more of his metal sculptures, visit www.galletameadows.com.  Or better yet, plan a weekend trip to Borrego Springs to see for yourself.

Rattledragon Sculpture

Our favorite wildflower trail is Coyote Canyon, where you can begin by driving past fields of desert lilies, sand verbena, and desert dandelion.
You soon get to Desert Gardens with some of the stockiest and greenest ocotillos to be found anywhere in the park.

After crossing Coyote Creek a few times (each crossing has a number), you get to Third Crossing, which has some marvelous
beavertail cactus with their bright pink blooms up the hill on the east side of the road.

Book now for your Borrego Wildflowers adventure.  Winter is the best time to visit the desert so check our schedule for rental availablity.  See you soon!!

We have been quite pleased with the rapid growth and the blooming yellow flowers from our spineless Palo Verde trees that we have collected approximately 50 seeds and have been replanting them into 1 gallon containers. Hopefully, they will be ready for the ground in about a year. The current older trees are getting brittle on some of the branches, and their harsh spines make trimming very difficult.   Over time we hope to replace the current Palo Verde trees with these new ones.

We are hoping to have the transition completed by 2014.

Make reservations for New Year’s . Enjoy the Starry Nights at our Desert Gem home.   Here’s our rate and availability information to help you make you plans.

One of the more interesting artifacts of California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is Yaquitepec on Ghost Mountain. The ruins of the  South Home, where a family of writers lived in the 1930s, can be seen from the top of this short, steep trail (about 600′ in 3/4mile) that begins in Blair Valley, 2.7 miles from Highway S-2.

In February 1932, while the country felt the grip of The Depression, Marshal and Tanya South came to this mountain to build their home and live off the land. They raised their children here, wrote magazine articles, grew vegetables, gathered native plants, and after 16 years decided to call it quits.

The “South Home,” actually an adobe cabin, was built by Marshal and Tanya South when they began homesteading in 1932, before the area was within the state park boundaries.

Yaquitepec, or Ghost Mountain, still carries the reminders of South’s homesteading adventure. The steep, mile long walk to the homesite will give you a breathtaking view of the land the South family called home. Look for signs of the ingenious water system with its cisterns and troughs. The adobe structure is quickly becoming a victim of the elements.

This is a rewarding hike with interesting remains to explore and beautiful 360 views.

Tips: Watch for the Blair Valley sign (on your left) just after curve on S2 south. There are other nice short hikes in this area including th… more »e pictograph trail and the Mortero trail.
Bring plenty of water and sunscreen/hat there is no shade.

With Anza Borrego State Park right out the back door and no houses within 100 yards, you are assured of a restful sleep. Comes with an unheated swimming pool and a hot tub for evening star gazing. The 1+ acre lot has over 50 palm trees, including Fan Palms, Bizmarks, Blues, Butias, and even one Chilean Wine Palm, and a wide variety of native desert plants and cactus.

There is also a security/maintenance man living on site to help with house problems, information on the area, directions, etc.

Address: 2868 Bending Elbow, Borrego Springs, CA 92004