We are still hanging out in the Wilderness Lakes TT facility in Menifee although it seems Hemet is closer. We have spent the last couple days watching the birds, going to Fart & Smile and dumping the tanks. We have had excellent satellite reception, pretty good wifi and pleasant weather so we did not feel compelled to do a lot of exploring, particularly since we have few places to go around here.
But today was a bit different. Back when we were on our way out of San Diego early in 2018, we stopped for a few days near Borrego Springs which is kitty-corner across the county from metro San Diego. Borrego is a strange oasis in an otherwise unforgiving desert environment by having large estates with acres of bright green lawns, emerald golf courses and fountains. They also have some amazing public art alongside the roads.
The art consists of large metal sculptures of animals, dinosaurs and, in one massive case, a dragon that looks like it is half-buried with half of it above the ground. All of this sculpture art is made by a guy named Ricardo Breceda who has a facility/welding shop/residence in nearby Aguanga. We elected to pop in at his crib to check out the stock on hand.
After stopping for fuel and getting our initial experience with current California exorbitant prices, we headed southeast on CA-79 until we made it to Aguanga. Breceda’s place is along this road and it is plainly evident since there is a concentration of fanciful metal sculptures on both sides of the highway. We pulled in past a stagecoach with a 4-horse team sculpture, a 30′ long gigantic rattlesnake sculpture and a myriad of metal dinosaurs. We caught the welder/cashier as he was sitting down to lunch but he was very nice and turned us loose in their outdoor studio.
This place is full of the creative efforts of the Breceda clan and is also free to visit. When we were there another visitor came up and asked if they had some small barrel cactus sculptures and, sure enough, they did. They also had two gorgeous puppies who seemed quite happy licking us, chewing on loose parts of my shoes, taking back rubs in stride and wrestling in the dirt. They had teeth like needles.
On the way back to No Wilderness Nor Lakes RV Park, we found some back roads that took us through this section of Riverside County. It is a bleak environment although they do have some nifty rocks.
We got some heavy metal pix. Click the asterisk *