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It's March, one of the busiest months of the year here in Borrego Springs. There are a lot of great activities planned for this month, and the weather promises to be outstanding here in California's Secret Desertâ„¢.
This issue features the upcoming free concert with Joel Rafael, golf events and activities, and our new "Camp Host Chronicles" feature. In addition, we cover the many upcoming events and activities.
So, read on and enjoy!
G
ive us a call to reserve your place at the Springs at 760-767-0004. Our team of friendly reservationists is ready to help you everyday from 8 AM to 5 PM. Or, you can book online at our online booking engine here.
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The Borrego Cup Canada vs. USA Golf Tournament Parade,
February 23, 2017
Photo by Lynn Bryans
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Upcoming Events and Activities
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Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,
Water Aerobics Exercise with Nesya
in the Saltwater Pool at 10:30 AM. No charge to RV Guests.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 AM,
Hatha Yoga with Nesya.
Tuesdays, March 7, 14, 21 and 28 at 5 PM,
Campfire Night at the Waterfall Ramada.
We bring hot dogs and S'mores, you bring a chair and your favorite beverage.
Wednesdays March 1 and March 15, Birding the Springs with Hal "Hawk Guy" Cohen.
Meet at the Entrance to the Recreation Center at 9 AM
Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:30,
Pilates and Toning with Nesya
Fridays March 3 and 10, Group Golf Clinics with LPGA Pro Brandy Casey,
$20 per person. (See Golf Activities Article below right.)
Saturday Morning March 4, Charity benefit pancake breakfast.
Join us at the Torres Room for home-cooked style pancakes, sausage and eggs. Net proceeds to benefit the
Sunday, March 5 at 6:30 PM,
Star Party with Dennis Mammana
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his month: The Big Dipper: A Celestial Icon
If you think that the Big dipper is just a simple star grouping, think again. In this fun presentation you'll learn where the Dipper is and what it's made of, what lies deep within, how to use it to find your latitude, and more. After this program, the Big Dipper will never look the same again!
$20.00 per person includes d
inner and beverages, indoor slide show and star talk presentation by Astronomer Dennis Mammana, and a trip out to our Astronomy Park for some guided stargazing (weather permitting).
Thursday, March 9 at 5 PM,
Open Mic and Jam Session with Harry Joe Reynolds.
Got a song to share or want to jam with the group? Bring your instrument! The Springs' Wine and Beer Bar will be open.
Thursday, March 16 at 5 pm at The Torres Room. Appetizer Potluck.
Bring an appetizer to share and your favorite beverage, and we'll meet and greet our neighbors in the park
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Thursday, March 23 at 5 PM. Wine Tasting with Robert Hall Winery.
Join us for a complimentary tasting of award-winning wines from our featured winery from Paso Robles.
Sunday, March 26 at 3:30,
Hal "The Hawk Guy" Cohen
will present a slideshow and presentation titled "Birds of the World" at the Torres Room
Sunday, March 26, at 5 PM.
Joel Rafael Live in Concert
a free concert at Dreamweaver Amphitheater.
See a calendar-style schedule of February events and activities
here .
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Birds of The Springs at Borrego
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| Greater Roadrunner by Hal Cohen |
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The Camp Host Chronicles
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Being a camp host at The Springs can be alternately
a lot of fun; very hard work; crazy busy;
and sometimes just plain funny.
A Devil of a Day
by Linda Fulton
It was a beautiful, warm but breezy Borrego Day. Camp Hosts Bruce and Linda Fulton were busy cleaning sites. We had just finished cleaning 108, a larger site for a guest who had just arrived. The guest was escorted to his site and within minutes he was set up and sitting outside enjoying a cigar. Bruce and I moved next door to site 109. I struck up a conversation with the neighboring guest and asked how he liked the Park. He said, "Very nice so far, but, we just got here." Then he asked if it gets very windy in Borrego. I explained that from time to time it can get windy and we encourage our guests to keep an eye on the wind in the event they need to put their awnings in.
Ironically, and surprisingly, the wind suddenly kicked up and a large "dust devil" formed right smack in the middle of his site where he was sitting. The dust devil moved and swirled in front of him blowing wind, dirt and dust in all directions. His awning was flapping and bouncing, we all wondered if the awning and the RV were going to take flight! His wife was desperately trying to close all her windows and the door as fast as she could. By the time it was over the guest looked a little disheveled, lost his cigar, and his awning fabric inverted, bellowing up and over the frame that had been pushed up against the side of his RV. A quick look revealed there was no damage. The guest, minus his cigar, took it graciously with just a little dusty clean up around and inside his RV.
I asked him again, "So, how are you enjoying your stay so far?
We all laughed at the perfect timing of this devilish arrival and the sudden excitement that we all had.
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Birds of The Springs at Borrego
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Thanks for reading, and we'll
see you soon in sunny and starry Borrego!
Sincerely,
Dan Wright
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Borrego Springs is an International
Dark Sky Community |
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Borrego Springs
Community Concert Series
Presents
Joel Rafael Live in Concert
at The Springs at Borrego
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On Sunday, March 26 at 5 PM The Springs at Borrego will host "An Evening with Joel Rafael" at Dreamweaver Amphitheater. The event is sponsored by the Borrego Springs Community Concert Series and is free and open to the public.
Joel Rafael has been an important presence on the folk music scene since the 1960's and in recent years has been the leading interpreter of the work of the great songwriter and activist Woody Guthrie. His finely-honed vocals, guitar and harmonica work have enthralled audiences literally for decades. Joel chronicles his life and the world around him with songs rooted in the American folk tradition, and influenced by Guthrie with whom he is credited with five co-writes.
Jackson Browne said, "Joel's songs are filled with passion and compassion. Passion for social justice, and compassion for those among us who have to struggle for a place at the table of American prosperity. His voice is unmistakably his own, big, warm and strong, and a conductor for the human emotions that connect us all."
Over the years Joel has shared the stage with folk greats such as Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, and Browne himself. On November 27, 2016 Joel performed a benefit in North Dakota to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that had been protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline there. He was accompanied by Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Jason Mraz and helped raise substantial funds to make sure the protest camp had access to food, water and sanitation services.
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Jason Mraz, Jackson Brown and Joel Rafael rehearse
for the concert at Standing Rock, North Dakota.
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On March 27th, Joel will perform a show and talk for the Borrego Springs Middle School themed "Three Chords and the Truth", where he will focus on the legacy of Woody Guthrie and the use of music in social activism. In a recent interview, I asked Joel about that subject, and how he relates his own songs to important issues of our time.
"As my career progressed, I always had a lot of respect for artists who used music and songwriting to address important issues. As a result my songs attempt to speak to real-life situations, such as labor, immigration and poverty. Music is an ancient method of preserving news, culture and history. I feel it's important to use the time I have in this world to try to make a difference, to write and sing songs that have meaning and context, and address these important matters." he said.
After years of studying the work of Woody Guthrie, Joel is beginning a new course for his musical career. In the wake of the death of his good friend, Native American musician, poet and activist John Trudell, Joel has taken up the cause of carrying on Trudell's poetry and music. He has been immersing himself in Trudell's body of work, and has upcoming appearances with Trudell's band
Bad Dog
at the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival in June in Northern California, and the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Oklahoma in July.
Joel said, "John was a true legend in the Native American music and political scene, and I am honored that his band has asked me to perform his music with them."
Joel is also the host of a weekly radio show on Rez Radio 91.3, which can be streamed from the internet worldwide. The show is called "Rockin' the Rez", and is heard Saturday mornings at 10 AM. The show is
an hour of eclectic folk, rock, native and many other styles of music, and interviews with performers.
In an age where so much of our popular music avoids important and timely issues in favor of content that has no meaningful statement to make about anything, it is refreshing to see and hear an artist like Joel Rafael. He does not shy away from the issues that affect so many of us, instead casting light on them in an objective way without taking sides as much as possible.
Joel says, "A song is a powerful tool and can be used as an agent of change. Unlike most other media, a song can't be lost, banned or burned. It lives in the hearts and minds of the folks who learn it and love it. It becomes a being in its own right and cannot be suppressed."
Don't miss this chance to hear this great American troubadour live in concert.
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Swainson's Hawk Migration Begins With Record Numbers for February
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The 2017 Swainson's Hawk migration through the Borrego Valley has begun, and it started with a bang! On February 19, over 200 hawks were counted, followed by nearly 500 on February 20. That's a remarkable beginning for the annual migration that typically does not get into full swing until March.
The Swainson's Hawk has probably the longest migration of any North American raptor, travelling up to 14,000 miles from its breeding ground in the western US and Canada to its winter home in the pampas of Argentina and Brazil.
Borregan Hal "Hawk Guy" Cohen has made studying the migration through Borrego a multi-year project, and you can follow his "Borrego Valley Hawkwatch" blog here.
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A "Christmas Tree" of Swainson's Hawks
by Hal Cohen |
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March Golf Events and Activities
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The Springs' LPGA Teaching Pro Brandy Casey.
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Saturday March 11 - The World's Toughest Golf Tournament
- Come have a fun day on the course. Check the Golf desk for pricing, which includes dinner and live entertainment.
Golf Activities:
-Mondays Lady Cougars tee off at 8:30 AM.
-Tuesday afternoons at 2 PM Nine and Wine Golf Mixer. A fun nine-hole game and nifty prizes!
-Thursdays Men's Coyote Golf Group tees off at 8:30 AM.
-Friday March 3 and 10 -Full Swing Classes with Brandy 10 AM $20 per person.
-Friday March 3 and 10 -Chip vs. Pitch Class 11:30 AM $20 per person
Notice: For the 2017-18 season, The Springs at Borrego Golf Course will be overseeded as it was in 2015-16, with tee areas, fairways and greens over seeded with winter rye. The rough areas will not be over seeded and will display the "California Gold" coloring.
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Borrego Cup Parade 2017
by Lynn Bryans |
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The RoadRunner Pickleball Club is open to the Springs' Guests Every Day.
The Springs Guests are welcome to join The RoadRunner Pickleball Club seven days a week! All skill levels are encouraged to participate from 8:30 AM to 12 noon every day.
If you want to play, just come to the Pro Shop and pick up a free 10-play punch card!
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