These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Once you start exploring the massive metal sculptures at Borrego Springs, you can’t help but wonder where they came from and why. Lucky for us, with the help of the internet and some answers straight from their creator, we found the clues to unlock the puzzles of this crazy place. The sculptures are all the work of one man, Ricardo Breceda. The craziest thing is they almost didn’t exist.
At one point in his life, Ricardo was a hard construction worker in Durango, Mexico. But after a serious fall on the construction site, Ricardo’s back was injured, and his construction career had come to a sudden end.
To pay the bills, Ricardo Breceda started a new job selling exotic boots. Little did he know that one pair of boots would change his life forever. Ricardo traded a customer a pair of boots for a welding torch. He wanted something to play with on his days off. He realized his true artistic talent after his 7-year-old daughter asked him to make her a life-sized dinosaur for Christmas after watching Jurassic Park 3.
Lucky for him, fate had bigger plans for his creations. He had set up a small store in Perris, CA called “Perris Jurassic Park”. It was about 15 minutes from the house where Dustin grew up. This was where he met the late Dennis Avery, who you might know from the Avery office supply brand. Dennis owns 3 square miles of land in the middle of the small town called Borrego Springs, right outside California’s largest state park, Anza-Borrego.
Dennis had a vision. He wanted to create a free-standing art gallery for all to enjoy. The beasts depicted draw inspiration from animals whose fossils were found in the desert. For example, the elephants are Columbian Mammoths and Gomphothere, and the bird is an Aiolornis. Avery had just financed a book on the extinct creatures and fossils of the Anza Borrego Desert when he drove past Ricardo Breceda’s Perris Jurassic Park. Avery decided to hire him to create statues of them on his estate.
Since we don’t know exactly what these animals looked like, Ricardo Breceda has put a mythical spin on them. It’s meant to mimic what the desert looked like centuries ago. Some of the sculptures show the history and culture of the area as well. There’s a grizzled miner panning for gold, Native Americans, and a stagecoach. In 2008, Mr. Avery and Ricardo struck up a deal to scatter 133 of his masterpieces throughout the desert. Galleta Meadows Estate was born, and it was a hit. People come from around the world to see Ricardo’s creations.
In addition to having the largest collection of his work featured all over Borrego Springs, you can find Ricardo’s work from Canada to Australia and all over the globe. He also has to upgrade his workshop. If you are a fan of the sculptures in Borrego Springs, you should visit the over 400+ sculptures at his shop at 44450 Highway 79 S. Aguanga, CA 92536. You can find the rest of his contact info on his website, ricardobreceda.com. He also has some of his work displayed in old town Temecula at Garden of Sculptures (41950 Sixth St. Temecula, CA 92590).
We recently made our way to Ricardo’s shop in Vail Lake because we had to meet the man behind the welder’s mask. We knew we had reached our destination when we saw Optimus Prime, standing on the side of the road and welcoming us with open arms. His shops are filled with sculptures, from tiny metal ants to giant dragons that breathe fire. We found the man himself resting peacefully with his dog. After a quick introduction, Ricardo happily answered some of our burning questions.
One thing we loved about Ricardo is that when we asked him which of his sculptures was his favorite, he answered, ” I don’t know, I haven’t made it yet.” But he was pretty fond of one of his newest creations. He had recently completed a replica Iron Man suit, which he proudly drove around town.
We asked him which of the sculptures were the hardest to make. He chuckled and said that none of them had been too hard for him, but that building and transporting the serpent was pretty challenging. Each section, except for the head, had to be split into two pieces to be transported to Borrego Springs. As for what he has planned for future sculptures, he already has one incredible fire-breathing dragon at his shop. But he wants to make another one that is even more detailed and can be triggered by remote control. You can tell that Ricardo Breceda doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon!
We also had to ask about the fighting scorpion and the grasshopper. Dustin wanted to know if there was a story behind it. Ricardo had wanted to set the stage for a ferocious battle, and one of its fighters was going to pay homage to his upbringing in Durango. The state of Durango is known as “the Land of the Scorpion” due to its abundance of the 8-legged arachnids. So when Ricardo was given creative freedom, he jumped at the chance to create the monster.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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