California Desert Wildflower Viewing

Tiny pink California desert wildflowers
Anza Borrego Desert State Park

El Nino has been good to us in Southern California where we have had above average rainfall this winter for a change. Actually the rain we had yesterday (today is a glorious day, by the way) meant my friend Denise and I had to postpone a trip we were going to do this weekend to the Algodenes Sand Dunes hoping for some great shots. We will try again in a couple of weeks.

All this rain, though, means that the wildflowers in the deserts of Southern California will put on a a great show this spring. The LA Times travel section today listed some good websites for getting up-to-date information on the state of the bloom in the various deserts which I am listing below. One of my favorite places to visit is Anza Borrego Desert State Park which is in San Diego County. Easily accessible from where I live in Orange County, it offers many great places to explore.

I took the picture of the gold daisy and the well-camouflaged gold caterpillar in Anza Borrego two years ago. Yes, if you look close enough you will see the caterpillar. I have to say when I took this photo, it was only when I zoomed in with the lens that I noticed it myself.

If you live in Southern California or the Desert Southwest, make sure you make the most of the spring wildflower season, as before too long it will be hot and dry again in these parts and who knows when we will be lucky enough again to have El Nino bring us above-average rainfall.

Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Joshua Tree National Park

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

Mojave National Preserve

Death Valley National Park

Desert USA keeps track of the status of wildflower bloom for all the deserts of the South West. Here's a link to their page for the wildflower reports for the California deserts.