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As the southernmost of the California deserts, Anza-Borrego State Park
usually blooms first. Extensive blooms of annuals were reported
beginning in early February, 2005. During our tour in March, we saw
the greatest variety of flowers here.
We toured from south to north, starting at the small town of Ocotillo,
near the border with Mexico. Ocotillo plants were blooming from here
into the southernmost part of the park. Driving along highway S-2,
flashes of color were visible everywhere. Stopping anywhere along the
road and walking around a bit revealed flowers everywhere among the
bushes.
The Carrizo Badlands overlook had swaths of lupines and desert
dandelions. Brittlebush were blooming everywhere on hillsides. As we
headed north to higher elevations, we saw fewer flowers - those areas
bloom later in the spring.
Leaving the park, we continued on highway S-2 up to S-22. Here at 4000
feet, we saw a few poppies beginning on the hillsides, and a beautiful
blooming bush poppy during a brief hike on the
Pacific Crest Trail south into the San Felipe Hills.
Descending on S-22 down the Montezuma Grade into the Borrego Valley,
there were absolutely stunning displays of brittlebush everywhere in
full bloom. This was really distracting to the driver! Fortunately,
there were many turnouts where you could stop to admire the flowers and
the views.
Borrego Valley is a large flat basin surrounded by desert mountains.
It is an inholding of private lands within the park, with a small town,
rural subdivisions, irrigated palm orchards, and many open fields.
Because of its lower elevation, the untilled fields were awash in
desert annuals, particularly at the north end. Where DiGiorgio Road
entered the park, the desert floor had numerous pink sand verbena and
large white blossoms of dune evening primrose. Along the east end of
Henderson Canyon Road, large fields of desert sunflowers spread out to
the nearby Coyote Mountains. This was the "showiest" spot in
Anza-Borrego.
We stayed in the park campground at the mouth of Borrego Palm Canyon
and hiked the trail up to the palm grove in the morning (best light).
Although a major flash flood in September 2004 wiped out most of the
palms and scoured the channels in the wash, flowers were blooming
everywhere on the slopes and had even recolonized some parts of the
wash. There were literally dozens of species here, both perennials and
annuals. This is a reliably good place for spring wildflowers.
We exited Anza-Borrego park to continue our desert tour on highway S-22
east to the Salton Sea, stopping first to re-visit the sunflower fields
on Henderson Canyon Road. Just east of Fonts Point, at the edge of the
Borrego Badlands, we found a large
sandy hill covered in pink sand verbena.
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Ocotillo (red), desert dandelion (yellow) and arizona lupine (blue) at Carrizo Badlands overlook.
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Arizona lupine at Carrizo Badlands overlook.
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Desert dandelions at Carrizo Badlands overlook.
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Looking out to the Carrizo Badlands with desert dandelion, arizona lupine, and ocotillo.
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Karen admires the desert dandelion at Carrizo Badlands overlook.
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Teddy bear cholla guards a field of arizona lupine at Carrizo Badlands overlook.
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Desert lily at Carrizo Badlands overlook.
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Brittlebush livens up the Mountain Palm Springs area
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Bush poppy along the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Felipe Hills
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Brittlebush among the boulders on the Montezuma Grade descending into Borrego Valley
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Dune evening primrose near Coyote Creek in Borrego Valley (end of DiGiorgio Rd)
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Sand verbena near Coyote Creek in Borrego Valley (end of DiGiorgio Rd)
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Desert sunflower in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Field of desert sunflower in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd), Coyote Mtn and Santa Rosa Mtns in back
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Desert sunflowers in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Desert sunflowers and dune evening primrose in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd), Coyote Mtn in back
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Brittlebush on the Panorama Outlook trail, near Borrego Palm Cyn
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Sunset over the Santa Rosa Mtns, from Panorama Outlook
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Brittlebush at entrance to Borrego Palm Canyon
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Brittlebush in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Chuparosa in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Little gold poppies in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Chuparosa (red) and notch-leaf phacelia (blue) in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Jimson weed (sacred datura) in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Notch-leaf phacelia in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Little gold poppies in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Brittlebush dots the side slopes of Borrego Palm Canyon
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Brittlebush (yellow) and chuparosa (red) in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Desert lavender in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Apricot mallow in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Palm grove above the falls, Borrego Palm Canyon
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Desert lavender in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Notch-leaf phacelia in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Brittlebush in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Desert chicory in Borrego Palm Canyon
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Field of desert sunflower in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd), Coyote Mtn and Toro Peak in back
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Dune evening primrose in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Dune evening primrose in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Desert sunflower and sand verbena in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Dune sunflower in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Desert sunflowers in Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd), with Coyote Mtn in back
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Caterpiller on dune evening primrose, Borrego Valley (Henderson Canyon Rd)
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Sand verbena in Borrego Badlands, Santa Rosa Mtns in back
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Sand verbena and dune evening primrose in Borrego Badlands
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Sand verbena in Borrego Badlands, Borrego Valley and San Ysidro Mtns in back
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