Finding a hidden artistic marvel in California’s deep desert

By Rod Andrew
There is a spectacular snake hiding in the hills near Borrego Springs, California. No, it’s not a rattler. I guess it could be called a rock snake.

In 2020, Don and Lorraine, friends of my wife, Sharon, and mine, took us for a hike into the hills outside Borrego Springs to look for a snake.

Here’s what they led us to.

Nestled in a sandy hollow in the hills lay this approximately 20-meter-long serpent. That’s Sharon standing beside it for perspective.

Now, when I see a creation such as this, lying tucked away where very few people will ever see it, I have to wonder about the intention of the person who brought it into existence. Not for fame or fortune, that is for sure. It’s off the beaten track and would only be chanced on by hikers.

So, why?

Although the maker had manipulated the natural state of the area, the changes were minimal. The image is temporary and not designed to force a lasting change on the landscape, in the way that spray painting initials on a rock is designed to do. The process of assembling the snake must have been time-consuming and onerous, as the stones used, probably basalt and quartz, had to be gathered and carried to the center of the sandy area used as the canvas. I believe the process itself was a part of the intention.

Sharon and I were impressed. The impetus to create art, simply for the act itself, is an essential part of human nature. I felt grateful for the opportunity to simply stand and appreciate the rock snake.

Around the snake were other creatures or images, some from nature, and some more whimsical, or personal.

I have no idea if the original artist created these other images. Perhaps they were added by viewers inspired by the snake.

In 2023, we all returned to see if the snake was still there. An earlier creation we had visited in the desert, a magnificent mandala, had later been erased by wind and water, so we were curious about how the snake had fared. (Read more about the mandala here.)

It was still lying quietly, seemingly untouched by the elements. Protected by its location in the bowl.

We did notice one small change to the snake. White fangs were now attached to the mouth. We didn’t remember seeing them there on our earlier visit.

There had also been a number of other designs added to the collection around the serpent.

Some were whimsical.

Others were startlingly realistic.

Even aspects of the universe we’re depicted.

A spiral galaxy?

 I think this one is a comet. Or is it an octopus?

During the previous three years, had the original artist returned to add to the creation, or had visitors to the snake been inspired to add their own images? I’ll never know the answer, unless the artist reads this and responds.

As we hiked down the hill, back to our vehicles, we passed a man walking up the trail. He asked if we had been to see the snake.

We told him that we had.

“Did you go over the next hill and see the dragonfly?”

“There’s a dragonfly?”

We had missed it!

Now we have a reason to return to the snake next year.

More from Rod:

• A very, very wet Valentine’s Day in Borrego Springs
• Feeling a little… grumpy… in the RV park showers
• Great expectations: Revisiting places that aren’t as you remember them

##RVT1113