Desert Trip
Originally, I had planned on visiting Death Valley in the wake of the record rains we've been having, but it rained most of the week during UCLA spring break. *grumble* Then I planned on going this weekend, but an article published mid-week in the L.A. Times soon put a stop to that. Apparently Death Valley has been getting record turnout-- normally, an average of 4,000 people are in the main area of the park, but they've recently been getting about 14,000 people-- and that's just those who are in the main headquarters area to be tallied! The article said that there were no hotel/motel rooms available for 100 miles, toilet paper was running out, the roads were crumbling from overuse and heavy traffic, fistfights were breaking out at gas stations over limited amounts of gas at area pumps...
Naturally, I decided to take a pass. It's about five hours from here to the park, and I would prefer to stay overnight, so I can drive there, rest, then look at everything in the morning hours, when it's cooler. Maybe next year.
Instead, we bundled into the car and headed to Lancaster, in the Antelope Valley northeast of Los Angeles. Roughly fifteen miles west of Lancaster is the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, a state park where California poppies and other wildflowers bloom for a few weeks each year. It was just an hour's drive through the mountains to the western reaches of the Mojave Desert. Palmdale and Lancaster are fairly nondescript towns, most notable for its expanded growth as a satellite of the L.A. metro area the last few years, an increasing correspondence in gang activity, and the locale of California State Prison, Lancaster, as well as the juvenile lockup for the county. A pleasant area, indeed. But the road leading to the reserve became brighter and brighter as stands and clumps of poppies appeared by the side of the road, and soon we could see wide swatches of poppies, bright and orange and beautiful. We reached the park itself, which was packed, and quickly, mercifully, found a parking space. We got out of the car and... wham. It was *windy*. Probably somewhere in the 30-35 mph range. It was a sunny day, but not too warm, and did I say windy? We slathered sunscreen on our necks and faces, tightly adjusted our visors, and went for a hike. It's quite hilly, and in the high desert, so the wind buffeted us from on high. We either arrived too early or just past the peak bloom, so we didn't see the carpet of poppies we expected, but there were plenty of poppies, lupine, and other wildflowers that the scenery wasn't totally lacking. There were birds flying overhead, and insects and desert mice crisscrossing the trails. There's a total of seven miles of trails-- we probably walked about two miles before we decided we'd seen enough poppies and withstood the wind plenty for one day. We left and had a leisurely drive back to the city.
It wasn't the most ideal conditions, and I'd still like to see more flowers, but it was a pleasant outing, all in all. My advice to you is to get off the computer, stop reading my blog, and go out and enjoy the springtime. *smile* Then come back and tell me all about it!
Naturally, I decided to take a pass. It's about five hours from here to the park, and I would prefer to stay overnight, so I can drive there, rest, then look at everything in the morning hours, when it's cooler. Maybe next year.
Instead, we bundled into the car and headed to Lancaster, in the Antelope Valley northeast of Los Angeles. Roughly fifteen miles west of Lancaster is the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, a state park where California poppies and other wildflowers bloom for a few weeks each year. It was just an hour's drive through the mountains to the western reaches of the Mojave Desert. Palmdale and Lancaster are fairly nondescript towns, most notable for its expanded growth as a satellite of the L.A. metro area the last few years, an increasing correspondence in gang activity, and the locale of California State Prison, Lancaster, as well as the juvenile lockup for the county. A pleasant area, indeed. But the road leading to the reserve became brighter and brighter as stands and clumps of poppies appeared by the side of the road, and soon we could see wide swatches of poppies, bright and orange and beautiful. We reached the park itself, which was packed, and quickly, mercifully, found a parking space. We got out of the car and... wham. It was *windy*. Probably somewhere in the 30-35 mph range. It was a sunny day, but not too warm, and did I say windy? We slathered sunscreen on our necks and faces, tightly adjusted our visors, and went for a hike. It's quite hilly, and in the high desert, so the wind buffeted us from on high. We either arrived too early or just past the peak bloom, so we didn't see the carpet of poppies we expected, but there were plenty of poppies, lupine, and other wildflowers that the scenery wasn't totally lacking. There were birds flying overhead, and insects and desert mice crisscrossing the trails. There's a total of seven miles of trails-- we probably walked about two miles before we decided we'd seen enough poppies and withstood the wind plenty for one day. We left and had a leisurely drive back to the city.
It wasn't the most ideal conditions, and I'd still like to see more flowers, but it was a pleasant outing, all in all. My advice to you is to get off the computer, stop reading my blog, and go out and enjoy the springtime. *smile* Then come back and tell me all about it!
posted by Mr. Sandman | 6:30 PM
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