After we left Alaska, Tom planned to head south through California. Sadly, the summer fire season was much worse and much longer than usual. After going through all the fires in British Columbia, he decided to detour through Idaho and Nevada instead. California would have to wait.
On the way, we visited Tom’s brother in Idaho. Then, we went to the Texas Gulf Coast for the winter. After a month of mostly cold, wind, and rain, we were ready to go someplace with more sun. So, we went back Along the Border to Arizona. Finally, spring arrived. Tom said “I think it’s time we visited California.”
Tom knew it would be hard to get campsites in California, so he made reservations early. While we were waiting, the news said that California was expecting a “superbloom”. Because of all the rain and warm temperatures, flowers were popping up everywhere!
Finally, it was time to leave Arizona. So, we packed up our den-on-wheels and headed west. What a beautiful drive! As soon as we left Arizona, the road started climbing up into the mountains. It looked a lot like my home turf in Colorado!
Our first stop was in Anzo-Borrego Desert State Park. We camped in the desert, and there were a lot of flowers right around the campsite. The next day, we drove further up the mountains into Borrego Springs. That was where we first found the superbloom.
Flowers were everywhere! The air was thick with the beautiful, sweet smell. And, the roads were thick with tourists! We were lucky to find a parking spot so we could go hiking. There were flowers everywhere we looked. Even the mountainsides were covered with flowers!
We also found some amazing iron sculptures near Borrego Springs. There were iron horses, elephants, and even some giant birds! People drive around the sculptures, so there weren’t a lot of flowers. But, we did find some cactus blooms. I guess people are careful not to drive over the cactus.
Our next stop was high in the mountains near Temecula. There were some nice hiking trails right at the campground. Again, flowers were everywhere! The flowers were different this high in the mountains. I especially liked the giant fields of orange poppies.
The Mount Palomar observatory was close by, so of course, we had to check it out. At other observatories, I always had to stay outside. But, they seem to like dogs here. I even got to go inside and see the giant telescope!
Our last stop was at Joshua Tree National Monument. The joshua trees look like something from an alien planet! Dogs aren’t allowed on the hiking trails, but we could hike together along the back roads of the park. I even got my “Bark Ranger” badge for being such a good doggo!
I’m glad we got to see California during such a special event. It’s too bad we could only stay a few days at each place. Now that we’ve had a chance to look around, I’m sure we’ll be back for a longer stay.
