Yaqui Wells 2011

Seeing as how the scouts were going to have a full week off of school for Thanksgiving we decided to put together a quick trip to Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  We had planned on camping at the Tamarisk Grove campsite, but due to state budget cuts it has been closed.  So we set up camp across the road in the Yaqui Wells campsite.  Its a great location, free and even has bathrooms (no running water).

Monday: 

We met up at Home Depot, as usual on Monday morning around 10:30am and then made the hour and a half drive out to Anza Borrego.  Once the scouts had set up camp one of our leaders, Justin, who is a former search and rescue member took the boys out to a site not too far from camp where a 16 year old boy's car was found, but the boy never was. 
He taught the scouts about some basic search and rescue techniques and then had them form a search line and look for any human trace.  All of the boys found at least one item they could claim.


After the rescue training the boys came back to camp as the sun was setting, but they yearned for more adventure so with flashlights in hand they set out on a hike up a nearby mountain.  It was here that they encountered "Jumping Cactus" for the first time.  This particular type of cactus drops barbed balls onto the ground as part of its germination process and the boys learned quickly to watch their step.  They kept getting poked by the small unseen balls and hence gave the cactus the nickname, "Jumping Cactus."

Tuesday:

Tuesday morning the boys were slow to get up and at 'em but it worked out just fine as another leader and scout were coming up to meet us that morning.  They arrived at 10:30am, just in time to pack up for our day in The Slot.

The Slot is a series of slot canyons that was not too far from our campsite.  These canyons have been formed over hundreds of thousands of years of desert rain storms eroding stream beds.  They were truly a miraculous sight and afforded the scouts ample opportunity to explore new caverns and crevasses. 

While the scouts employed the buddy system with leaders at the lookout points, Justin and Markell stayed behind to set up a nice repel to allow the boys to finish up their rock climbing merit badge.  Once Justin, our resident rock climbing expert, gave the final safety check Steven was the first to descend into the canyon.  It was a fun repel for the scouts, many of whom were able to overcome their fears from the first rock climbing trip.

By the end of the day the boys were zooming down the canyon and we were even able to set up two ropes to let them have a little competition.  We packed up the gear just in time to get back to camp before sundown.

For dinner we ate Frito Pie:

• 1 pot chili (prepared the way you like)
• 4 bags Frito Lay chips
• sliced tomato
• chopped lettuce
• cheese
• taco sauce
• diced onions

It was this scout leaders first time having it, and boy was it good!!  For dessert Jeff cooked up a concoction of sliced apples, oatmeal, Ritz crackers and some other special ingredients.  It was interesting to look at, but it sure tasted great. Justin then taught us how to roast biscuit and crescent roll dough over the fire, to which we added butter, honey and the occasional roasted marshmallow.  All in all, our hunger was satisfied.

Wednesday:
In the morning the scouts stoked the fire and prepared breakfast.  We had a scout camp out staple; pancakes, eggs and of course BACON!!!  After all the bacon was cooked we then through in the crescent roll dough and in about 30 seconds made a bunch of scones.  What a clever trick!

We broke down camp and then piled into the cars to drive out to Box Canyon.  The Mormon Battalion blazed the wagon trail through this canyon and the boys were able to discover a big slab of granite that the battalion had cut out to clear the way.  In the granite we were able to see where the wagon and hand cart wheels had worn grooves in the rock.

From Box Canyon it was onto the mud caves.  I am not sure how we got to them, but I do know we drove for a long time in the dried river beds of the Canyon Sin Nombre, Arroyo Seca Del Diablo and finally the Arroyo Tapiado, which is where the caves are.

I was told after this trip that these caves are some 2 million years old and that if you look close enough you are able to find fossils of prehistoric animals.  I am thinking it is a lot like digging for the trilobites out by the Salten Sea.  In any case these series of caves is also supposed to be some of the most extensive caves in America.  We were able to find a couple neat caves to explore, but we also left a lot undiscovered, and will have to go back.

Once we were all sufficiently dusty (there was no "mud" only dry, dusty dirt) and worn out, we loaded up the cars, did one more clean sweep through camp and then hit the road to rendezvous with parents at our troops favorite dinner stop...In N Out Burger.