For those who enjoy flowers (Baja may also have some great blooms this season)
Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, is now a riot of color: More than 20 kinds of desert wildflowers are in bloom after record rain last
October.
It’s the best bloom there since 2005, according to Abby Wines, a spokeswoman for Death Valley National Park, and “it just keeps getting better and
better.”
The flowers started poking up in November, but the particularly colorful display emerged late last month in the park, which is mainly in California
but stretches across the Nevada border. On Twitter and Instagram, park visitors have taken to calling it a “superbloom.”
The park receives about two inches of rain annually, so it always has some wildflowers, though not as many or as varied. But it does not take much
more rain than that to completely dye the desert, Ms. Wines said, making last fall’s unusually heavy rain particularly effective.
The past couple of years, much of California has been in a state of exceptional drought. But in Death Valley, where dry is the norm, rain has been
about average, Ms. Wines said.
The primary threads in the floral carpet are yellow — the most common flower is called Desert Gold, which looks like a yellow daisy. But there are
also strands of purple, pink and white. One of Ms. Wines’s favorites is the “Gravel Ghost,” a white flower that appears to float above the ground.
The flowers are expected to stick around until mid-March, unless it gets too hot or windy.
We were there this week --- put a couple of pictures on Woody's thread. It is getting warmer, so a few are wilting at the lower elevations, but more
are opening a little higher up. It is beautiful! Since it is so close, we may go back, that is until the real hot weather hits!
There are a few road closures still from the rains. The road out to Shoshone is closed as is the Saline Valley Road from the north. They don't know
when Scotty's Castle will reopen as it was damaged in the floods; that road is also closed. We entered from the Big Pine road and most of that is in
great condition. When we were at the junction for the Scotty's Castle Road, it was quite a sight to see the evidence of how much water came down that
way.
In fact, there is lots of evidence everywhere of flood waters. Titus Canyon is open. It is a bit rough in places --- more so than in the past
because of the water.
It is a different Death Valley right now! The most beautiful yellow fields are south of Badwater right now!
[Edited on 2-28-2016 by DianaT]wessongroup - 2-28-2016 at 05:06 PM
It's a cool place ... at times
Had friends that used to live in Darwin .. owned the store there ... have no idea it it is still there ... this was back in 68DianaT - 2-28-2016 at 05:18 PM
Had friends that used to live in Darwin .. owned the store there ... have no idea it it is still there ... this was back in 68
We will check on that sometime soon. :-) By the way, this is also a great time to visit the Redwoods in the far north as there are few tourists. We
were there a couple of weeks ago and always love it. wessongroup - 2-28-2016 at 05:22 PM
Good to hear you guys are still getting out and about BornFisher - 2-28-2016 at 07:31 PM
OK have the van ready to roll. Was going south to pet whales but now, it`s Death Valley or bust!!!! Figure the Salton Sea or maybe Joshua Tree for
tomorrow, then meander around to Death Valley. And thanks to Diana, maybe the north coast, but leaning toward Virginia City. ROAD TRIP!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!DianaT - 2-28-2016 at 07:34 PM
OK have the van ready to roll. Was going south to pet whales but now, it`s Death Valley or bust!!!! Figure the Salton Sea or maybe Joshua Tree for
tomorrow, then meander around to Death Valley. And thanks to Diana, maybe the north coast, but leaning toward Virginia City. ROAD TRIP!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!
We had planned on heading south, but a health issue stopped us, so pictures of the north coast and Death Valley to follow.
