Superbloom - and more!

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10 March 2019, 02:36 PM

Steve Miller

Superbloom - and more!

I woke up at midnight on Thursday to find Kim and Jeff standing on my porch. It took me a while to wake enough to figure out who they were and how they might have ended up there because we were not expecting them. Whatever - we let them in.

Turns out they traveled all the way from Ohio to tell us that we are gong to become grandparents! Two grandkids in one year! We couldn't be happier!

Here are the parents-to-be:

10 March 2019, 02:38 PM

Nina

Congratulations! That's wonderful news, and they both look great.

10 March 2019, 02:43 PM

Steve Miller

We had already planned to go to the desert on Saturday to see the Superbloom. Our friends Scott and Sandy had arranged to come with and the San Diego TV stations were showing spectacular shots of how it looks. Being as they were already here, Kim and Jeff got to come with us.

The Superbloom turned out not to be all that Super so far, but pretty nonetheless. One of the most spectacular areas turned out to be alongside the interstate on the way to Borrego Springs - near Eric's house. Traffic was nearly stalled as we passed this hillside and there were hundreds of cars parked alongside the road as we drove by:

Here is a closeup of the poppies that a friend of ours took there yesterday:

10 March 2019, 02:43 PM

jodi

Wow! Congratulations!

10 March 2019, 02:54 PM

Steve Miller

The bloom is happening only sporadically in this part of the lower desert. Maybe it's too early, and if it is I will go back in a week or two. We took a lot of pictures of this one hillside. You can't tell from the pictures but we could see how important micro climates are to these flowers. The flowers at the bottom of the hill are purple Sand Verbenas and a couple hundred yards up the hill they are mostly a yellow flower I don't know.

Let me show them to you:

Here are some of the yellow ones:

Kim took some closeups:

Mrs. Miller and Sandy - friends for over 40 years:

10 March 2019, 03:13 PM

Steve Miller

We went from the hill to a lookout area called "Font's point" some 4 miles back on a dirt road. Mrs. M. was not the least bit happy I was offroading her car and I was not all that sure I would not get stuck in the sandy sections of the road. My time tested strategy of speeding up whenever I saw sand (works in snow, too) did not make her any happier. I had packed a tow strap and there were many Jeeps about so I wasn't worried.

Let Scott show it to you:

On the way back we drove through a swarm of butterflies and Sharon's car became a Weapon of Moth Destruction.

It needed washing anyway.

10 March 2019, 03:38 PM

wtg

Lovely family.

Wonderful friends.

Beautiful scenery.

Life doesn't get much better, does it?

Oh, and congratulations, Gramps.

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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb

Bazootiehead-in-training

10 March 2019, 05:31 PM

Like, Like, Like, Like, and Like!

10 March 2019, 06:15 PM

Mikhailoh

Congratulations! More reason to come to Ohio.

Love the Anza Borrego desert. Great place to camp and hike. The stars at night fairly blow your mind.

Have never been lucky enough to see it in bloom, though. Bucket list item.

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"A mob is a place where people go to get away from their conscience" Atticus Finch

10 March 2019, 08:46 PM

ShiroKuro

Oh wow, congratulations! And what a lovely way to spend the day!!

Flower

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

10 March 2019, 09:51 PM

Amanda

Wow!

Sounds your life itself is in superbloom this year! How great, Steve.

And what a wonderful way to announce the second bloom!

10 March 2019, 10:12 PM

AdagioM

Congratulations to you and your super-blooming family!

19 March 2019, 08:04 AM

wtg

Be thankful you went when you did.

quote:
Lake Elsinore officials on Sunday closed Walker Canyon, citing a "public safety crisis" as visitors trampled blooms and caused traffic jams.

The town of 66,000 saw some 50,000 tourists visit en masse in a weekend.

Social media could be behind the incident, which began trending as #poppynightmare, authorities say.

After being overwhelmed by the massive influx of visitors on Friday through Sunday in what was described as an "unbearable" weekend, officials briefly shuttered access to the canyon on Sunday night.

But by Monday morning, the canyon was re-opened, with officials saying it was "not feasible for us to keep visitors away from Walker Canyon".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47615535

19 March 2019, 08:53 AM

Daniel

Congratulations!

19 March 2019, 11:27 AM

Nina

I miss the desert. What a wonderful time to be out and about there.

The yellow flower is desert marigold. Not sure of it's "real" name. I'm assuming there were also California (gold) poppies? So beautiful.