Picture this. You’re driving through the barren desert on a remote two-lane road. Other than the beautiful rise of steep mountains in the distance, there is nothing but the flat desolate plateau of sparse vegetation and sand. Suddenly, you are jolted from your stupor by the sight of a large beast protruding from the sage and cacti. It’s a prehistoric mammal; a previously extinct monster, a childhood nightmare or some desert legend come to life.

Now imagine coming to the realization this thing is not alone. As your scan the desert near and far, a host of dinosaurs, sloths, serpents and creations of other worldly types make their presence known.

If this happens to you, most likely you have been dipping into something more that the Pabst Blue Ribbon, or you are nearing the small community of Borrego Springs, where such things exist within a swath of desert hundreds of acres in circumference.

This was an experience Trish and I had on a weeklong venture in the most southern reaches of the California desert, not far from the Salton Sea. The one difference, however, was we were looking for the creatures. And jubilant we were when we found them in many shapes and sizes lurking here and there in the vast expanse of the landscape.

We came to a T in the road and turned toward the majority of them, miles from any apparent civilization. We drove toward a large serpent with the large head of a dragon, which somehow lurched across the road. In fact, it actually crosses beneath the road. We pulled off the road, near the giant head of this thing. We exited the Rav4, approached the thing, aimed and fired off a few shots with our cameras.

This was the first of many creatures we would visit this day. In fact, 130 of these metal sculptures encompass the surrounding desert on either side of Borrego Springs. Aside from the huge serpent, the majority of these chunks of art are away from the road. Yet, they are easily accessible by scores of dirt roads, which for the most part, are smooth and friendly to the average car. It is no exaggeration to suggest your Aunt Lois could access most of the sites in her 30-year-old Buick Skylark.

We drove from one creation to another, many of them representing  the great mammals of yesterday—A giant three toed sloth, a mammoth, slightly mutated turtles and horses, sabretooth tigers and lumbering beasts that appeared to be a strange cross between an elephant and an aardvark. Then there were the dinosaurs…lots of them! However, about a half-mile or so away from the prehistoric oddities, at a far corner of the exhibit, are pieces with a more modern theme—A gold miner with his mule in tow, a jeep climbing a boulder and a tribute to Native-Americans, to name a few.

In yet another section, artwork resembling wildlife that currently reside locally, includes pronghorn sheep, tortoises and boars.

Parked alongside a giant scorpion we found a man with his pick-up truck making repairs. “Okie,” is the man who mends the broken toes, ears and other appendages damaged by winds, vandals and time. But he is much more than a handy man. James “Okie” McNatt is a former mayor of Borrego Springs and friend of the late Dennis Avery, who was the businessman, philanthropist and visionary of this surreal world.

“We had an arts festival here yesterday, had about 200 cars parked here abouts,” Okie said, “Tomorrow we have a concert going on here. As you can imagine, we sometimes get people crawling on the sculptures and things get broken,” he explained, standing at his tailgate where the metal pincher for one of the scorpion legs sat, the size of half a car bumper.

As for Dennis Avery, he was an heir of the Avery Label Company his father had created in 1935. He used a part of his share of the family fortune to buy up land around Borrego Springs, where he lived. He named his lands “Galleto Meadows Estate,” and commissioned local artist Ricardo Breceda to bring into reality the things he envisioned would occupy the lands. Instead of using the lands for his own personal use, he left them open for the public to roam and appreciate as sculptures accumulated. He named his exhibits “Sky Art.”

We drove into town and a couple miles out the other side to find more of the estate and, of course, more sculptures. Some of these were barely discernable, as they were far off in the desert and took some time to get to. This particular part of the display has mainly horses, eagles and more dinosaurs. These appear to be more action-based creations—horses rearing up or kicking, a T-rex and a likewise threatening carnivore going at it and, not far off, an oversized winged creature carries off a wild boar in its claws.  The surrounding vicinity is home to raptors and finbacks of varying size.

I could go on and on, but any degree of rhetoric will not give the justice due. You must experience it for yourself. You must stand in the desert among the cacti and greasewood with sand in your shoes and the sun overhead to fully appreciate the pieces of artwork before you.

Borrego Springs is in San Diego County. From I-10 at Indio take Route 86 about 40 miles south to Salton City. The turn off to Borrego Springs is Route S22 to the right just after Salton City. This road has plenty of dips and some rough spots, so have fun, but not too much. In under 30 miles you will be on the skirts of Borrego and you’ll want to start scanning the vicinity for the aforementioned critters of a burnt metallic color.

A couple of things. This is a good winter trip, as it gets much too hot in the summer. We were there in February and it was nearing 80 degrees. Also, there are plenty of sidewinders and scorpions that can instantaneously turn this adventure into a crummy experience. Bring boots to protect your ankles and plenty of water.

Most of all, have fun and remember the sculptures extend on either side of Borrego Springs. Make sure your camera or phone is fully charged as you’ll likely, as we did, take many photos.

 

NOTE: Ricardo Breceda, the creator of these incredible pieces of art, has MORE art nearby. The “Garden of Sculptures” is in nearby Temecula and he works out of his studio in Aguanga. Both of these places are roughly an hour from Borrego Springs. For more information about Ricardo and his work, visit  http://ricardobreceda.com/