Poppy Reserve - 09 APR 2010

I saw on the news last night that the poppies were blooming, so I got up early and called Rob to see if he was up for an adventure. He didn't recognize my morning voice but said when he heard the word "Adventure" at 7:00 AM, he knew who it was...and the answer was YES!

I've been to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve SNR several times before, but have never been able to catch the really big show.

It was cool and windy so the show wasn't as spectacular as it would have been if the conditions were ideal. Yet, with the flowers only half open it was still an incredible sight.

The Reserve has very strict rules about staying on the trails and not picking the flowers as the beauty needs to be preserved for others. However, along the highway there are lots of tourists stopping to tread over the flowers in order to take pictures.

Rob takes in the view:

I've always loved photographing old farm equipment but these picturesque items, were screaming at me as I drove by; so, I caught them on the way back.

The last time I saw a nature explosion this good was March 2005 in Death Valley National Park. (Again, it was a newscast that alerted me to the beauty and I ran out the next day to find it.) This is what I found:

And there is always tourists, stopping to photograph each other.

After leaving the poppies, rob spied a couple of bright lights in the distance and asked me what I thought they could be.

Never one to leave a mystery unsolved, I drove over to them. Turns out they were the Sierra Generating Station Sun Tower Project...it was more fun having a mystery that seemed like a secret government project.

Driving pass Action, we found a funky antique place that had everything from chuckwagons to giant farm animals.

Happy Trails to you!