super bloom
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
The super bloom going on around Borrego Springs and in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is expected to reach its peak in the middle of March, so the Hundred Peaks Section planned a rare outing without any peaks to climb for the ides. Looking at just the cost of gas, the price of admission does seem staggering for a single day looking about. Still, this is supposed to be a 1 in 20 years level event, so I decided to get up in the early dark and get myself down there to see this bloom.
Our first stop is along Henderson Road, but we have been seeing flowers for a while at this point. At first glance, there are only about three types of flowers in the field. Most noticeable are masses of yellow of desert sunflower. Big floppy white flowers of the dune evening primrose are quick to catch the eye. Big puffs of purple of desert sand verbena complete the initial colorful impression.
As we walk around, deeper into the field, there are a few more that were easy to overlook at first. Smaller and more elaborate brown-eyed evening primrose add splashes of color with their white. As we get closer to the creosote bushes, they are bursting with color.
As we walk a little further, we even find a few pests. They are surprisingly large as they gobble away at the flowers.
We head off toward Coyote Canyon, but the road is quite full of vehicles and the warnings of sandy shoulders making passing difficult seem to be being heeded by most the passenger cars. But there are more flowers among the empty fields between citrus trees that could be orange, lemon, or grapefruit (but seem to be lemon). These fields look to be full of desert dandelions at first.
Again, more flowers are revealed as we walk about. The paloverde is not even close to blooming yet. The brittlebush is nothing but blooms.
Look a little closer and there is somehow something more to see.
We take off for a little something that can be enjoyed all year: silly metal statues. These have been put up on a private landholding and are quite scattered. First, we find some more pests.
Then we head off past a few more to a cactus that is surrounded by a new field of flowers to search through. It turns out we have good luck with cactuses around this one.
Some fauna inspires me to change the lens for some close ups. The hummingbird waits just long enough for me to finish, then flies off before I can hit the button. This is probably why people run around with multiple cameras.
After a while, we take off for a more elaborate metal sculpture we saw on the way in. Apparently the Chamber of Commerce and a few other spots in town have a free handout that includes a map of the metal sculptures which are quite numerous.
We stop by the Visitor Center before leaving. They have a garden showcasing the plants of the area including some that are only found in very special places. This includes palms and elephant trees. There are a few more flowers, too, and some in bloom that were not at the various stops.
As we finish, we take off for home. Resources I am using to identify plants are the Natural History Association plant quiz, DesertUSA flower guide, and the Mohave Desert wildflower list.
©2017 Valerie Norton
Posted 17 March 2017
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