Warning: there’s a lot of orange coming up.
Years ago, my family made a trip to Gorman, California, and had a fabulous view of a hill full of yellow, blue and orange wildflowers. It was a sight I’ll always remember. We’ve gone looking for wildflowers since, but never with as much success.
Having learned of the super bloom this year, my husband and I headed down the 5 Freeway, then across the 138 toward the Antelope Valley. Thanks, Judith Cassis for your suggestion! In no time, we could see vast patches of orange and yellow in the distance. Soon, it seemed there were wildflowers right along the highway, but the terrain was flat and we didn’t get much of a view out the car window. That did not deter me from taking pictures.
We were awed when we arrived at the California Poppy Preserve. We’d visited before, but it was not nearly so spectacular.
We hiked an easy trail that went up a hill so we could get a view. We weren’t disappointed. Look at this canyon!
There wasn’t much lupine—the source of the rich purple color so common along our highways. It is fantastic framed by the poppies and abundant yellow flowers.
Just look at this view of the valley below. Now that’s California’s version of the painted dessert! No wonder we could see so many flowers out the car window. The wildflowers stretched out across the dessert floor as far as the eye could see. Even though it was only partly sunny, the colors were awesome.
Here’s my favorite flower colors all mixed into one natural bouquet—blue, orange and yellow.
This is our final view of the poppy preserve as we finished our hike. Spectacular!
I recently learned that Joshua trees are going extinct. I well remember the Mojave Dessert when it was covered with trees. It seemed fitting to snap a picture with a lone Joshua tree and wildflowers in the distance.
Our hills are already starting to turn brown. Our fleeting springtime is at an end, but it was magnificent while it lasted.