After day trips to Lake Elsinore and Anza Borrego, we continued our superbloom wildflower tour with a trip to the Carrizo Plain southwest of Bakersfield. Most years, this area is a barren land better known for its examples of shutter ridges along the San Andreas Fault than anything to do with plants. But when the rains start in December and continue with just the right timing in January and February, we get a superbloom. For the second time in three years, we're in the midst of a superbloom. It is very unusual to have superblooms that close together. It's often 10 years or more between such unusual wildflower blooms.
During a superbloom, the Carrizo Plain between the Temblor Range and the Caliente Range is carpeted by yellow daisies and purple phacelia. The Temblor Range becomes a patchwork of orange poppies, yellow daisies, yellow goldfields, purple phacelia, and the green of desert candles.
We spent a week in the Carrizo Plain National Monument in 2017 during the last superbloom. We have a good idea of the best places to check out, but it's different every year. Since the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve is also at peak bloom, we planned our trip with 4 days at Carrizo and then a morning at the poppy reserve before spending a day in Palmdale with Carol's nephew Ian and his family.
Today was an easy drive through Los Angeles, over the Grapevine, and down into the Central Valley to Maricopa. The highlight of the day was dinner at Roots in Taft. We discovered this family-owned BBQ in 2017 and couldn't wait to return. All the people are friendly and the BBQ is amazing!
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