12/14 Art in the Borrego Springs Desert

A few years ago, Dennis Avery, who was the owner of a large parcel of desert near Borrego Springs, California, wanted to add some art work to his land, so he contracted with metal artist Ricardo Breceda to create some sculptures to display on his land.  Over the past 20 years, he has created and displays about 130 sculptures in this huge desert area. 

To get to them, you need a map from the local state park or nature center, and then just follow directions to as many of these sculptures as you can find.  Some are very close to one of the highways in the area, and others require some walking.  

Since you will be driving and walking on private land, signs such as the one posted below, warn you against things you are asked to not do:

Following are photos of some of the sculptures we found this week.  Some are of prehistoric animals and others are examples of more modern themes. Here is a large bird who has brought a snake to its babies.

And a horse.

A saber tooth cat about to pounce on a horse.

And one that has already pounced!

An elephant.

And a Columbia mammoth.

A giant tortoise.

 A couple of ancient relatives of modern elephants. 

A camel nursing its young.

This is the front part of a serpent that is crossing the highway,

You can see the rear part of the serpent on the other side of the road.

Maybe a rattlesnake?  Except that rattlesnakes do not have teeth like this one does.

And a prospector and his lady friend in a 1946 Jeep.

The head of a Native American.

And a closeup of that head. 

Obviously, there are a lot more of these sculptures, and Borrego Springs is a terrific place to visit, so go there and see if you can find others.