With winter season (and sadly – snowboarding season) over, it’s time to embrace the outdoors but in a different way! We have been to Anza-Borrego State Park before but it was only for night-time photography. This time, we wanted to try camping (in my Tesla) and also so Brea could fly her new FPV drone near the metal sculptures.
Contents
Getting There
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is located about 3 hours from Los Angeles.
If you are here specifically to see the Galleta Meadows sculptures, you’ll need to drive or walk around after getting inside the park. Not all of the sculptures are next to each other. Make sure to study the map beforehand or download an offline copy.
The campsites are about 10 to 15 minutes from the sculptures. You will need to pay the entry fee (or camping fee).
Getting a Campground
In order to get a campsite, you will need to reserve in advance online. There are many different types of campsites – we picked the hook up / electric one so that I could try out charging my Tesla while we slept! Each campground can fit up to 2 vehicles (the extra vehicle costs an additional $10), has restrooms as well as showers (with tokens), and a bench and table to use. Dogs are also allowed at the campsites.
Things to Bring
We brought all of the essentials that we had during our camping trip at Joshua Tree. We also had to bring a couple extra items since this time we were camping in the Tesla.
Essentials
- Water
Make sure you bring a lot of water. It’s always better to have more than you need than not enough, especially in a desert. We brought about 5 gallons for three of us (plus a dog) - A cooler and ice packs
This really helped during the day when it was scorching hot. We have reusable ice packs and a cooler that fit in the frunk - Food/snacks
- Sunscreen
You’ll need a lot of sunscreen since it can get pretty hot during the day - Hand sanitizer
- Face masks
- Trash bags
Always pick up after yourselves. They have dumpsters that you can put your trash in that are near the restroom - Sunglasses
- Toiletries
- Sandals
- Speaker
- Board games
Camping Essentials
- Tesla Mattress & Privacy Screens
We bought the one from Tesmanian that was very easy to set up. It is a memory foam that can compress into a carrying case that fits underneath the trunk. The privacy screens go all around the windows so that no one could sneak a peek while we were sleeping haha - Tesla Roof Sunshade
We also bought this from Tesmanian and it will help block out the sun from the glass roof - Tesla Charging Cables
I bought the whole pack from Tesla which includes several different connectors. The hook up site we had was a 50AMP (which charges ~23 miles per hour)
- Tent
We got the Portal tent from SlingFin because it is lightweight (only weights 2lbs 13oz) and easy to set up. We didn’t need this but our friend borrowed it - Sleeping bag, mattress/pad, pillow, blankets
All of our sleeping things were easily inflatable (within seconds) - Plates, bowls, cup, utensils
We saw these on Amazon and thought they were interesting and a great idea! They can unfold/fold into a bowl, plate or a cup and will snap in place. Because you can unfold them flat they are really easy to clean. - Headlamps
- Extra lights
We have the Luci Solar Lantern lights, the Luci Solar String lights as well as a LED rechargeable camping lantern - Camping chair
On our last camping trip, we had 2 separate chairs but this time we bought a loveseat so we could sit together!
- A shovel
- A portable fan
- Portable chargers
Galleta Meadows Sculptures
The Galleta Meadows Sculptures are available 24/7. There are over 100 sculptures here so plan your time accordingly! When we first visited at night, we only saw 2 of them! This time, we were able to see more because we had more time and also because it was much easier to find them during the daytime. Here were were the ones we visited:
Serpent
Of course we had to pay a visit to the most famous sculpture – the serpent! Surprisingly, it was not crowded even during the daytime. I was able to park my car in front and take some nice photos. Brea also flew her FPV drone here.
Scorpion vs Grasshopper
This was another sculpture that we re-visited just because it was still interesting to see and so I could get a picture of my car next to them!
Sloth
The sloths were very textured! I really liked the one on its 2 legs where it looks like its chasing my car haha
Jeep
The jeep was to scale. If you parked your car or truck right next to it, it’ll look like you’re in a car shoot.
Eagle
The sculpture of the eagle was pretty massive. They even had to have 2 poles on the side to hold it up.
Some other ones we saw on our drive included: elephants, horses, and a priest
We only spent in total about 2 hours exploring the sculptures and only managed to see about 10 of them. You’d probably need to spend all day or more to see all 100+!
