We enjoy camping, there’s something so basic about living with your family in just a small tent and surviving on just a fire and small stove. In Oregon we did a lot of camping in the summer months. Beautiful lush green forests with creeks you could ride your tube down. We spent so many wonderful moments camping in Oregon, so since it’s spring break I’ve been begging my husband to go camping.
Fastforward and we live in Southern California. He finally caved and we spent all day packing up and getting ready to head out of town east towards Palm Springs, Arizona… the desert. He found a place to camp near the Salton Sea at a place called Borrego Springs. towards Palm Springs. We arrived to the campsite just as the sun was going down but the beautiful cactus and sands all around made for a beautiful looking campsite in the fading light. We were so excited about exploring in the day light.
We pulled in, bought a night at the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground and started to unload. Got the tent setup, started a fire and smores. Everything was going great and we were excited to get ready for bed to have fun the next day. My husband loves hiking and dragging us with him and no terrain stops him.
The temps were around 70 so it was really warm as we got everything ready for the night and our stay. The girls happily played near the tent in the sand with their toys and we spotted a few little beetles. It was all fun until it got later in the night.
And then it got dark and out….
Out came the the night dessert critters of Southern California. They’d dart past your feet and scurry across the sand. With the lights on you can see them because they are the color of the sand.
But these were not scorpions, they were Wind scorpions. They can go by different names such as sun spiders and camel spiders.
I had no idea what to expect camping here in California. I knew in the desert that there were creatures of the night but I had no idea tarantulas and scorpions were those creatures! So the kids hid out in the car and my husband and I jumped around the camp site packing up and heading home.
It’s not an end to our journey though, now that we know what to expect we can become better prepared and you better believe I want to go back and explore those natural springs during the day! Exploring and learning and spending time together as a family is what I love about camping to begin with.
No way would you get me out there in a tent!