Spring on the Carrizo Plain 2019

A couple weeks ago, I headed to the Carrizo Plain, not quite making it to the Carrizo Plain National Monument.  The drive was gorgeous with gold splashed across the Temblor Range.

Even if there were no color, the Carrizo Plain is incredible to behold.  It is the largest single native grassland remaining in California.  It stretches approximately 50 miles long and up to 15 miles wide.  Viewing the open vistas of the Carrizo Plain is like looking into the past, when much of California was undisturbed grasslands.  It boggles the mind!

Today’s drive was dreary and cloudy, but still remarkable. There were some shifts and additions in the color evident in the hills. The golds were still there, but purple and magenta were also popping up demanding attention.  Alice Walker’s famous quote could really apply to all the vibrant colors that dance across the hills in the spring:  “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”

Some California Poppies

Fiddleneck

Phacelia

Goldfields

The intersection of Highway 58 and Seven Mile Road still offered a great display of yellow splashed across the Temblor Range.  This is where this year’s first drive ended.

On this second drive, I continued on Highway 58, heading toward Soda Lake Road and the Carrizo Plain National Monument.  It was a dreary overcast day with heavy cloud cover.  But the roads were still fun to drive, the vistas were magnificent, and the flowers demanded attention.

Owl Clover

A Refreshing Breeze Was a Constant Companion

Milk Vetch

Owl Clover

Munz’s Tidytips

What eventually became the National Monument started in 1988 when 82,000 acres of the Carrizo Plain were purchased in order to preserve the grassland.  In 1996, the area was officially labeled the Carrizo Plain National Area.  Then, in 2001, President Bill Clinton officially made the area a National Monument.  By that time, the preserved lands had increased to almost 250,000 acres.

 

Baby Blue Eyes

This is a distant view of the Temblor Range from the far end of Seven Mile Road where it intersects with Soda Lake Road.

Aerial View of Soda Lake
Google Image

A major feature of the Carrizo Plain is Soda Lake, which is located on the southwest side of the Plain’s northern section. The lake—when full—covers an area of 4.6 square miles. It sits at 1,900 feet and is comprised of two large basins and 130 smaller pans.  Officially, Soda Lake is “a shallow ephemeral alkali endorheic lake.”  Basically, it is one of the largest alkali wetlands in natural condition left in California.  When the water from a wet winter recedes, a salty crust is left on the surface. Soda Lake Road, itself, parallels the lake and stretches from Highway 58 in the north to Highway 166 in the south, covering at least 25 miles. You can hike out toward the lake, if you are so inclined.  I am impressed enough just driving along it for miles and miles.

Below is a distant view of Soda Lake from the intersection of Highway 58 and Seven Mile Road.

Soda Lake Road is an intense drive: some sections are paved, but most of it is hard-packed dirt covered by ruts and potholes and even some washboard sections. Drive carefully but enjoy the scenery!

I saw and heard several meadowlarks, but they refused to be photographed.  This sparrow did cooperate for a few photos.

As I headed home, it began to rain. Refreshing end to a nice day!

If you have never visited the Carrizo Plain, add it to your bucket list.  There is still some time this year when the color should stay vibrant.  Or put a visit on your calendar for next spring.  Of course, any time of the year you can hike and appreciate the open grasslands, including seeing some painted rocks left years ago by indigenous tribes or wandering literally on a section of the Andreas Fault. It’s an incredible place.

This is a helpful article about traveling to the area. Johna Hurl, Manager of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, does not use the term superbloom. Instead, she simply says, “It’s springtime in Carrizo.”

NOTE:  I have identified the names of wildflowers when possible.  I am not 100% certain all my labels are correct.  There are several that I would just call “pretty flowers.”  If you can share some names or corrections, please do so.

LOTS OF POPPIES!

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.”   Virgil A. Kraft

“When spring is dancing among the hills, one should not stay in a dark little corner.”  Kahlil Gibran

The other day I headed out to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to find some poppies.  I was very successful!  This year is proving to be another Super Bloom.

I drove to the Poppy Reserve via Tehachapi and Rosamond and then on into Lancaster.  There are usually some poppy fields along Avenues D and I before getting to the Poppy Reserve.  This year was no different. Intermixed with the poppies were some small patches of Fiddleneck, Goldfields, Baby Blue Eyes, and the start of Lupine.

John Steinbeck (East of Eden, 1952) was accurate in his description of these fields of color: ”On the wide level acres of the valley the topsoil lay deep and futile.  It required only a rich winter of rain to make it break forth in grass and flowers. The spring flowers in a wet year were unbelievable. The whole valley floor, and the foothills too, would be carpeted with lupins and poppies.”

John Muir was rather poetic: “When California was wild, it was the floweriest part of the continent.”

The closer I got to the Poppy Reserve, the greater the crowds.  Cars were parked along the roadside as people wandered out into the fields.  Such traipsing is technically not illegal on land outside of the Reserve.  I would have been in line about an hour to get into the Reserve itself and start looking for parking.  Too many people.

I really prefer the flowers!

“Every natural object is a conductor of divinity and only by coming into contact with them. . . may we be filled with the Holy Ghost.”  John Muir

 “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”  Shakespeare

Spring breezes are a constant companion when out enjoying the poppies.  John Keats noted the same thing:  Through the Dancing Poppies stole a breeze most softly lulling to my soul.”  

I headed home via I-5, so I could drive the Gorman Post Road.  Poppies and Lupine are usually in bloom along this short stretch.  This year, they have not fully arrived yet.  Only one or two poppies were evident and a plant or two of lupine were not yet in full bloom.  The hills were mainly covered by Kern Tarweed.

It was another delightful spring afternoon.

This post is my response to Lens-Artist Photo Challenge 39: Hello April.

SUGARLOAF RIDGE STATE PARK (April 2018)

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is part of the California State Park System.  Well, it was.  Several years ago, in a cost saving move, several parks were dropped from funding.  The park is now run by Team Sugarloaf, a group of five non-profit organizations. There is a nominal day-use fee.

The park is under 10 miles from Santa Rosa is about an hour from San Francisco. Nestled in the Mayacamas Mountains where Napa and Sonoma Counties merge, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park contains the headwaters of Sonoma Creek.  The creek runs through the park’s gorge and canyon, through a meadow and beneath scenic rock outcroppings.  There are 25 miles of hiking trails as well as some camping spots.  It is a great little hidden treasure!

I first visited Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in late April, hunting wildflowers.  An article had noted that the wildflowers were impressive this spring, somehow in response to the wildfires that permeated the area in late 2017.  The article was right.  In fact, the area leading to the park was pretty as well, passing through some vineyards, open fields and even neighborhoods where flowers were also in bloom.  I also stopped at Trione-Annadel State Park, a few miles further down the road.

The drive to the park offered some pretty views and flowers.

Inside Sugarloaf Ridge State Park:

Inside Trione-Annadel State Park, there were no wildflowers along the road, but the greens were delightful, peaceful, cool.

If you have not yet visited these wonderful state parks, add them to your To-Do List.  Next spring would be a good time for a visit.

SEARCHING FOR SPRING, PART 6: Lupine, Poppies & More, oh my!

“EARTH LAUGHS IN FLOWERS.”   Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two of my favorite wildflowers are Lupine and California Poppies.  They are both so bold and bright that when they make an appearance, you have to notice them.  A great place to watch for their first appearance each spring is driving I-5 over the Grapevine.  When patches of orange paint the hills, it is time to start exploring the area with more diligence.

A great spot to find a closer view of wildflowers is on the Gorman Post Road, near the top of the Grapevine.  This year was no different, but the poppies were not as evident as usual.  The lupines, however, were flanking the road along with some other colorful blooms.

Fortunately, the California Poppies were taking over the fields en route to the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve State Park.  According to the staff, the east side of the park was where poppies were most likely to be found on its actual grounds. When a friend and I were there on a weekend in early April—as predicted by the staff—it was almost impossible to get into the parking lot and past the entry kiosk.  We chose not to wait at least an hour to be able to look for a parking space, especially since we had already been sitting for close to an hour on the adjacent roads.  I’m really not crazy about crowds.

On a Weekday–Weekends The Cars Would Be Ten Times Worse

These Distant Hills Are Officially Part of the Preserve

The poppies, however, do not simply grow in the Poppy Preserve.  Their audacious color erupts along the roads and throughout the fields in the whole area surrounding the park.  And the poppies are joined by some other blooms as well.

Several Stands of These Pink Trees Were Blooming Along Lancaster Road

If you have not wandered by Gorman and then on Lancaster Road toward the Poppy Preserve, the time to get out there is now.  You will be rewarded with seeing some of the boldest and brightest wildflowers around!

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”    Iris Murdoch

“For myself I hold no preference among flowers, so long as they are wild, free and spontaneous.”   Edward Abbey

“I must have flowers, always and always.”   Claude Monet

“How does the Meadow-flower its bloom unfold?  Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and, in that freedom, bold.”  William Wordsworth

“Spring is God’s way of saying, ‘One more time!’”   Robert Orben

“It is Spring again.  The earth is like a child that knows a poem by heart.”   Rainer Maria

An Afternoon Drive: Windy

“Who has seen the wind?  Neither you nor I:  But when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.”  Christina Rossetti

 “Life is full of beauty.  Notice it.  Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces.  Smell the rain, and feel the wind.  Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”  Ashley Smith

With the El Nino rains this year in California, the promise of wildflowers is in the air.  Even though the Antelope Valley California State Poppy Preserve was saying the poppies were not yet out in great numbers at their facility, I decided I would go check the area out.  After all, color had already splashed across the hills near Gorman, California, an area that I would pass en route to Lancaster and Antelope Valley.

By the time I got started, it was already early afternoon.  The weather changed a bit as clouds moved in and the winds picked up. Overcast is not the best weather for seeing wildflowers since many—like the poppies—do not fully open on dark and dreary days. The winds were picking up too.  Strong winds undermine taking photos. But I kept with my afternoon plans.  After all, I love watching breezes dance across the fields and the clouds were likely to be great.

As expected, the hills near Gorman showcased lupines, a few poppies, and some pretty views of the open road.

As I merged onto Highway 138 (Lancaster Road) heading toward the Poppy Preserve, the number of flowers in the fields diminished.  But the clouds were enticing and patches of yellow goldfields were evident along the way.

There was not much color around the entrance to the Poppy Preserve on this visit.  (Past years have been pretty impressive.)

The winds were great this afternoon.  I even (finally) thought to practice using the video feature on my camera.  I did forgot the videos record sound as well as pictures, so there is some silly music in the background.  But you can also hear the wind rustling about.

It was a great afternoon!

Do you have somewhere you love to drive on a leisurely afternoon?

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QUOTES ABOUT THE WIND

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”  Charles Dickens

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”  John Ruskin

“There is muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind.”  Annie Dillard

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”   William Arthur Ward

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”  Henry Ford

“Just imagine becoming the way you used to be as a very young child, before you understood the meaning of any word, before opinions took over your mind.  The real you is loving, joyful, and free.  The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.”  Don Miquel Ruiz

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”  Bruce Lee

“I love the feeling of the fresh air on my face and the wind blowing through my hair.”  Evel Knievel

“A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.”  Catherine the Great

“I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.  To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”  Oliver Wendell Holmes

“I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun.  I was born where there were no enclosures.”  Geronimo

“Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!”  William Butler Yeats

“The substance of the winds is too thin for human eyes; their written language is too difficult for human minds, and their spoken language mostly too faint for the ears.”  John Muir

“When one has faith that the spring thaw will arrive, the winter winds seem to lose some of their punch.”  Robert L. Veninga

“Poetry is the impish attempt to paint the color of the wind.”  Maxwell Bodenheim

“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.  The answer is blowin’ in the wind.”  Bob Dylan

Wildflowers in Death Valley 2016

El Nino has brought rains to California over the last several months.  More rain is still likely, so maybe—after enough rain and extensive snow pack throughout the year—the state’s long, long drought will start to subside. I certainly hope that the drought comes to an end sooner, rather than later.

But I am also hopeful that this year might generate some impressive wildflowers. 

In late March 2015, I saw some great wildflowers in Mojave’s Red Rock Canyon.  The California Poppy Preserve is hopeful for a good bloom this year, again in late March or April.  Thus far no extensive blooms are evident in the park or on the Gorman Hills along the Grapevine.  I figured I would start my hunt for wildflowers in about a month.

Then I heard about the 2016 Superbloom erupting in Death Valley.

A Ranger posted the above YouTube video on this year’s blossoms in early February.  Even though I did not notice the video until late February—so the blooms would have started to fade—I decided I would head to Death Valley for a wildflower adventure.  If nothing else, I knew from my Death Valley trip last spring that I would enjoy the great scenery and fun curvy steep roads.

I started my trip, heading east on Highway 178.  Its route along the Kern River is always lush and green after a good rain.  This year, California Poppies adorn the hills and other wildflowers jumped out along the roadside.

Lupine

Yucca

My quick detour through Red Rock Canyon confirmed it was too early for extensive flowers this early in the spring.  About all I saw were the yellow blossoms of the Creosote Bushes that dot the area near the Visitor Center and an occasional Yucca starting to bud.

Creosote Bush

The next day, when I first started into Death Valley, I did not see much color.

Eventually, gold and purple bushes dotted the roads, but the color was still minimal.

Golden Evening Primrose

Just as I was thinking the Superbloom must be over, I hit a stretch along Highway 190 where Desert Gold bushes spread out across the fields.  Although the blossoms were rather muted and starting to wane, they were quite impressive as they stretched across field after field throughout the park.  Other wildflowers jumped into view at various places, adding to the colorful palette.  Obviously, the Ranger was right:  If this more extensive blanketing of color only happens about once every ten years, my trip to Death Valley was well worth the effort.  The wonder and diversity of nature is always impressive!

Gravel Ghost

Phacelia

Red Mat

Cream Cup

That’s a Woman Out in the Field

Desert Gold Sunflower

The next day I headed home, traveling Highways 14 and 58 through Tehachapi.  Once again, some California Poppies and a few other wildflowers painted the hills and roadsides.

Desert Dandelions

Gravel Ghost

California Poppies

All in all, it was a beautiful and colorful couple of days!

NOTE:  I’ve done my best to give the names of some of the flowers, but if you can add a name or make a correction, please do so.  Thanks.

Do you have any favorite places you visit to see wildflowers in bloom?

SOME QUOTES ABOUT WILDFLOWERS

“Change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like a stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.”   John Steinbeck

“No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere.”  Sheryl Crow

“Love is like wildflowers; it’s often found in the most unlikely places.”  Ralph Waldo  Emerson

“It is easier to tell a person what life is not, rather than to tell them what it is.  A child understands weeds that grow from lack of attention in a garden.  However, it is hard to explain the wildflowers that one gardener calls weeds, and another considers beautiful ground cover.”  Shannon L. Adler

“There are as many ways of loving as there are people, and that wildflower variety is the great beauty of this dimension of existence.”  Rumi

“Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart!”  Lady Bird Johnson

“The more often we see the things around us—even the beautiful and wonderful things—the more they become invisible to us.  That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world:  the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds, even those we love.  Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.”  Joseph B. Wirthlin

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.  God is the friend of silence.  See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence, see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.  We need silence to be able to touch souls.”  Mother Teresa

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”  Henri Matisse

“Earth laughs in flowers.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.”  A. A. Milne

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter. . . to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in the spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”  John Burroughs

A Couple Last Views from Death Valley Superbloom

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Hue of You

“My teacher asked my favorite color. I said ‘Rainbow.’  I was punished to stand out of my class.”   Saket Assertive

On any given day, I am likely to give a different answer to the question, “What is your favorite color?” I guess you could say I am fickle.  I love the dark violet blue of the sky just after sunset. My favorite flowers tend to be purple (iris, Texas bluebonnet, lilacs), but oh those glorious pink roses.  The soft grey of wolves and pussy willows and kittens is amazing.  And when I see a big yellow dog, reminiscent of my long ago dog Murphy, my heart literally skips a beat.  I also love green, even speculating in the past that it was possibly God’s favorite color.

Today, my favorite color is ORANGE.  In all its shades and hues:  peach, terra cotta, sienna, vermillion, tangerine, amber, and coral just to name a few.  Orange is less vibrant than red but exudes more warmth than yellow.  It is earthy, enticing, and energetic.  According to one website, orange is associated with enthusiasm and creativity, vitality and endurance, curiosity and change. No wonder orange is a hue that speaks to me!

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I love quotes, but who would’ve thought I could find some about “ORANGE”?

 “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”  Vincent Van Gogh

“Orange is the happiest color.”   Frank Sinatra

 “If love were a color, it’d be orange. Not because that’s a romantic color, but because it’s the sweetest.”  Jarod Kintz

“Orange is one of God’s favorite colors— He stuck it right there between red and yellow as the second color in the rainbow. He decorates entire forests with shades of orange every autumn. It shows up in sunrises at the start of the day, sunsets at the end of the day, and in the glow of the moon at the right time of night.”   Reggie Joiner

 “Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”  Wassily Kandinsky

 “The woman had told the truth. The flowers were the color of sunset. And not the yellowish tinge of a lazy sun either, but the intense orange of a sun refusing to set on anyone else’s terms.”  Dolen Perkins-Valdez

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 This is my first time completing a weekly photo challenge.  I was inspired by the entries of two bloggers I follow: Tricia Booker Photography and  de Wets Wild.

This was fun!  What is your favorite color?