This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

From our winter base in La Quinta, California, my wife, Nancy; our dog, Callaway; and me headed East and West the other day on a one-and-a-half-hour drive to an outpost in the California desert, Borrego Springs.

I guess we had nothing better to do on a Saturday than make the drive, which I had done once before.  So, I was eager to show my wife the sights and sounds of the 90-mile transit.

To get to Borrego from La Quinta, you head mostly East on I-86, which takes you by the Salton Sea, still a large body of water, despite predictions that it is dying.  One reason, of course, is that it is “infested” with salt that harms fish populations and exudes a smell the drives many visitors away from its beaches.

They still exist, I guess, with signs that are falling down, heralding such beaches as one named appropriately – Salton Beach.

Although large seas have cyclically formed and dried over historic time in the basin due to natural flooding from the Colorado River, the current Salton Sea was formed when Colorado floodwaters breached an irrigation canal being constructed in the Imperial Valley in 1905 and flowed into the Salton Sink.

Thus, the Salton Sea, which does not have much going for it these days other than that it might be a site for mining lithium, which is needed for many of today’s batteries.  Various companies are exploring mines in and around the Sea (just as, for instance, they are doing in far East and South reaches of Oregon, the state where we live, except in the winter).

About 50 miles East from La Quinta, you turn West on a difficult road to traverse.  On many bumps, you go around and through vast expanses of sand with nary a tree in sight.

And, then, about 10 miles in on the 30-mile drive to Borrego, you see RV after RV positioned out in the sand-scaped vistas with their four-wheel drive vehicles nearby ready to traverse the land.

I guess there is no need for permit to camp on the land.  Just show up and set up, if you can stand the heat and the sand without trees.

When we got to Borrego, it didn’t appear that there was much to see.  There was street fare in the central turnaround of the city and it appeared that many residents and visitors frequented the area during the day, especially when there was music to enjoy.

We drove around to see what we could see, wondering all the time why anyone would choose to live in Borrego, especially when water is so scarce.

We do have a handful of friends who have chosen winter homes there and one reason, they say, is that the pace of life is slower than it would be in the Palm Springs environs. 

No doubt true.

The best area we saw on our trip was the de Anza Golf Course, where one of my friends has played for years.  There was a friendly clubhouse there and a course that looked inviting, at least at first blush, though I did not play it.

There also were homes around course, much as exists in Palm Springs around the more than 100 golf courses in our area. 

My wife and I said we could sojourn there in the winter, but not elsewhere in Borrego.

Here is what Mr. Google says about de Anza:

“People from all around the world are attracted to de Anza Desert Club for the fabulous Borrego Springs golf in conjunction with the desert’s beauty and tranquility.  Located 90 minutes from Palms Springs and San Diego, de Anza Desert Club is a great escape from the hustle and bustle.  

“And for people who desire the outdoors, de Anza Desert Club is surrounded by the grandeur of the 600,000-acre Anza Borrego State Park, California’s largest state park.”

The most famous golf course in Borrego is Rams Hill and, when we drove by it on our trip, there was a long waiting line on the first tee.  A couple years ago, I played it once and, while a decent course, once is enough for me.

Speaking of Mr. Google, here is what he says about living in Borrego:

“You get to enjoy a small community that has natural treasures surrounding it.  The desert is not just a flat patch of burning sand.  The canyons in the mountains around Borrego Springs will testify to that.  You have an opportunity to see some of the natural wonders of Southern California right outside your door.”

Okay, I get it.  But for me, my wife, and my dog, we prefer La Quinta.