Far Flung Travel
Full-bloom Fever
by Chuck Graham
I
’ve seen traffic cops working intersections before. There are lots of moving parts. However, this was ridiculous. It was all in the name of desert flora exploding across a dormant desert floor. The desert wildflowers that brightened Anza Borrego Desert State Park and piqued by the middle of last March were the real deal, a true showstopper in California’s largest state park located within the Colorado Desert. It’s also the second-largest state park in the Lower 48, which not only encompasses the desert floor but also oasis-filled canyons, stunning badlands, and daunting mountains 6,000 feet high. The funny thing about all that congestion was that it was mostly centered near the Visitors Center, where the traffic cops somehow managed the throng of cars where the S22 met the main drag of Borrego Springs. There weren’t nearly the amount of cars around the outlying areas of the park where the best show of wildflowers were. There were a lot of cars, though, in and out of Coyote Canyon that
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were driving way too fast and not even enjoying the “super bloom.” The broad, dry arroyo was something to behold. Fortunately, most of the hordes were moving through in the middle of the day when the desert sun was way overhead and the desert was cooking in the lower 90s. It was also the worst time for photography. I drove out to Anza Borrego twice;
the second time with my wife, Lori. The mornings were the most pleasant long before the sun peeked above the mountaintops. We were grateful for the cool air and so were the flowers. We discovered most wildflower seekers like to sleep in. Pity. In fact, most folks would drive up, stay on the periphery of a carpet, have a gander, and then leave. The vast profusion of stunning color this year in Coyote Canyon was one of the best blooms in at least a decade. 2010 was real good and so was 2005, but 2017 probably topped them both. My favorite desert floral displays were those that encompassed several species of flowers clustered together, finally breathing life into the desert after years of stingy drought. I usually found three species clustered together at a time, and my favorite was definitely purple sand verbena smothering a lone desert lily. Every other desert lily I’ve seen in the past stood alone. Another favorite was the tall desert sunflower towering over low-growing sand verbena and either brown-eyed or dune evening primrose. Other abundant clusters were bushels of desert dandelion and chickory with Arizona lupine standing over them. While waiting out the hottest hours of the day, I was fortunate enough for a couple of greater roadrunners crossing in front of me. They helped pass the time away while they foraged for lizards and snakes before doing what they do best – running across the road.
• The Voice of the Village •
The desert sunflowers in the broad valley on Henderson Canyon Road were the best I’ve ever seen. The yellowish-orange blooms stretched as far as the eye could see to the base of the mountains. Mixed in beneath those tall blooms were sand verbena and dune evening primrose. Some of my other favorite blooms were those that grew out of cracked mud in the now dry arroyos, a nice contrast to the gravelly desert floor. Best experiences were those when we left my truck in the late afternoon and wandered off into the desert, just looking for the best blooms with the best backgrounds while waiting for the most optimal light. Time kind of slows down, the temperature drops, and a cool breeze blows down canyon. The colors of the desert eventually soften, signifying another epic day in Anza Borrego. •MJ 15 – 22 June 2017