FUN-photos: Wildest Desert Bloom in Decades!

March 30, 2017 by Susan Clarke

Finding the Wildest Desert Blooms in Decades was our day’s agenda. Since I had never been to the Joshua Tree National Park that was our first destination. Massive boulders and rock formations jutted up from the earth. Some stacked neatly while others looked as if they were tumbled out of a giant bucket. And thousands of Joshua Trees in varying stages of life & death filled the desert in every direction.

Then as we continued on to Borrego Springs using only the back roads, the “hills were alive with blooms” that ranged from vanilla, to soft pale butter & vibrant sunflower yellow, periwinkle, fuchsia, tangerine, lilac & lavender. Clinging to the side of the rocks and roads were perfectly formed big bouquet-like mounds of miniature daisy bushes.

And the rock formations in Mecca were incredible. Unfortunately Mr. Jaded, AKA Chris, didn’t stop so I could take some pix. Quote “It’s just a pile of rocks.” This is what I live with!

La Casa del Zorro was our overnight stop and the next morning was spent driving and hiking in search of the fields of flowers dotting the desert landscape. Our “big bonus surprise” was discovering 130 full-sized metal sculptures that are inspired by creatures that roamed this same desert millions of years ago. The artworks, spread out over 10 square miles, range from prehistoric mammals to historical characters, dinosaurs, and a 350-foot-long fanciful serpent.

Heading home we came out of the desert via Hwy. 78 to Julian and got more incredible displays of bountiful blooms that got bigger the higher up the mountain we went.