Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
species such as snow geese, eared grebes, ruddy ducks, white and brown pelicans, bald
eagles and peregrine falcons.
These days, if you've heard of the Salton Sea at all, it's probably due to annual fish die-
offs, which are caused by phosphorous and nitrogen in agricultural runoff from nearby
farmland. The minerals cause algal blooms, and when the algae die they deprive the water
- and fish - of oxygen. Even if farming were to stop tomorrow, there are still generations'
worth of minerals in the soil, waiting to reach the sink.
One solution would seem to be to cut off the water to the sea and let it die, but that car-
ries its own dilemma. A dry Salton Sea would leave a dust bowl with a potential dust
cloud that could widely devastate the local air quality. The debate rages on.
Stop by the visitor center of the
Salton Sea State Recreation Area
( 760-393-3810;
www.parks.ca.gov
; visitor center 10am-4pm Nov-Mar)
, on the north shore. Further south,
Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
(
www.fws.gov/saltonsea
; 906 W Sinclair
Rd, Calipatria; sunrise-sunset, visitors center 7am-3:15pm Mon-Fri year-round)
is a major migrat-
ory stopover along the Pacific Flyway and has a visitors center, a short self-guided trail, an
observation tower and a picnic area. It's about 4 miles west of Hwy 111, between Niland
and Calipatria.
Julian
The mountain hamlet of Julian, with its three-block main street, is a favorite getaway for
city folk who love its quaint 1870s streetscape, gold-mining lore and famous apple pies.
Prospectors, including many Confederate veterans, arrived here after the Civil War, but the
population did not explode until the discovery of flecks of gold in 1869. Today, apples are
the new gold. There are nearly 17,000 trees in the orchards flanking Hwy 178 outside
town. The harvest takes place in early fall when some farmers may let you pick your own
apples. At any time, at least taste a slice of delicious apple pie, sold at bakeries all over
town.
Julian sits at the junction of Hwys 78 and 79. It's about 1ΒΌ hours from San Diego (via
I-8 east to Hwy 79 north) and 40 minutes from Borrego Springs Head (south over Yaqui
Pass on County Rte S3, then Hwy 78 west).
For more information, contact the
Chamber of Commerce
(
760-765-1857;
www.julianca.com
; 2129 Main St;
10am-4pm)
.
