Anza-Borrego Visitor Center

Look hard at that hillside and you might miss the building entirely, which is exactly the point. The Anza-Borrego visitor center is built right into the slope, bermed over with desert earth and a living sod roof, so it sits cool and quiet while the desert bakes above it. Smart design for a place this hot. Walk the short path in and you step underground, out of the glare, into the story of where you are. And where you are is the Colorado Desert, the California arm of the great Sonoran. Not the Mojave to the north, this is lower, hotter country, the land of ocotillo and creosote and fan palms. Out front there's a demonstration garden, the desert's plants laid out with names, a gentle way to learn the cast before you meet them in the wild. The park's full name carries two ideas. Anza, for the Spanish captain who crossed this desert, and borrego, Spanish for sheep, for the peninsular bighorn that work these rocky walls. In the cool season the center's open daily, nine to five. Pop in if you like, then we'll point you toward the canyon.