加州罂粟花 (California State Flower) 保护区

1。绿色三月

五号高速路边的景色

 风大，天冷，花儿不开瓣

棕榈谷 (Palmdale)的雨下得还很急，住进旅馆时是下午3：15，肚子打响了午饭钟。打开电话号码薄，家乡自助餐馆 (Hometown Buffet) 冲入眼帘，这个连锁餐馆熟悉，曾经光顾过几次；人一旦饿了，就忘了曾经立下过今生不再光顾自助餐馆的誓言，进了那地方很难不饮食过量。挣扎出来时，差不多4：30了。天上的阵雨似乎想与我们同步，此时已经漂移东去很多，天空开始晴朗起来了。

红岩谷边沿

 上得一道山梁，天气晴朗，微风习习，视野阔远。露营地上帐篷粼粼，令人惊奇；这里缺水，植被皆无，我是没有到此露营的欲望。仔细观看，地面上有成片的沙漠向日葵，金色闪烁，仙人掌，和艳红的印第安彩笔花 (red Indian paintbrush)；还是遮不住干涸的土色，没有生机。

岩下有帐篷营地

不到两小时就走人。出来的路上有大好的摄影机会，大红的岩石立柱悬立在高速公路边上。几百万年前，地球火热滚烫，熔岩起伏，形状各异。那熔岩奇迹般冷却成眼前的模样，令人目瞪口呆，难以置信。游客如此稀少，要知道好莱坞曾在这里拍了不少影片的。

鲜艳的岩石立柱

彩绘大地

雪山，石谷

多好的季节，不仅仅因为这里有草青青，花盈盈，更有圣加加布里埃尔山 (San Gabriel Mountains) 的雪峰，给山下的岩石，山谷，树木画一般的背景。我是一路小跑奔下山谷，登上岩石，抓紧拍照。我只能在这里留连半个小时，约好了6点钟吃晚饭，好在我没有迟到。

棱角冲天

1.     Green March

March came to splash green all over the fields and hills.  Flowers are blooming and birds singing.  Spring Break was the time to go out and greet the magnificent season of spring.  Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve came to mind.  California poppies are native thus deserve a special place.  We had heard it a great deal but never made the pilgrimage to see.  Hotel was reserved three weeks ahead of time.

 Aquaduck Channeling Water for Southern California

We left town before 8:30 in the rain.  However, when Highway 580 took us to Livermore and Altamont Pass, soft morning sunshine came out to grace green hills. It was so glorious that we checked into the Rest Area at the joint of Highway 580 and Interstate 5.  We needed a stop to breathe in the spring air and take in the great greenness of the season.  Not only that, we also checked out the first Vista Point we saw.  The elevated mount enabled us to see expansive green fields and rolling hills.  March and April were most beautiful time in California.  Standing there, I could feel arms and wings (when did I get wings?) were open and flapping. It was so uplifting. The drive took over 6 hours.  When the scenic view was so magnificent, there was not to check into every Rest Area, Vista Point, and Fruit Stand that was open.  Relaxation and rush don’t see each other eye to eye.

2. Wind and Showers

Wednesday traffic was on the light side. Around 2:45, we arrived at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve as the town was still further east. The forecast didn’t kid us. The wind was practically howling while showers apparently just pushed its way through. California poppies are a sensitive bunch. Their petals wrap around each other like a needle when it is overcast, windy, foggy or cold. Self-preservation has top priority for them precious flowers. Besides the sharp edges of the wind, it was also distressing to see the tattering and shattering of the poppies under dark clouds.  We left quickly, with the idea to come back to see those millions of flowers under bright sunlight tomorrow.

We checked into the hotel in Palmdale around 3:15 in steady rain showers. Then our stomachs started to groan. In the phone book Hometown Buffet seemed to jump out of the pages.  We had frequented this joint in other areas in the past. Hunger glossed over our past vow of not eating any buffet for the rest of our life.  It is always hard to prevent over-eating in a buffet.  When we finally pulled ourselves out, it was only 4:30.  As showers kept retreating to the East as if keeping pace with our advance, the day became brighter in the evening hours.

3.     Saddleback Butte

We needed to work off the extra food taken at the buffet. So, we looked at the map and found Saddleback Butte State Park at the edge of town of Lancaster, connecting with Palmdale in the north. We had our buffed lunch in Lancaster, a town at the north end of Los Angeles County, with Edwards Air Base as the biggest employer.  One could see bombers, fight jets, helicopters and even missiles in many places. Also the Planning Department of Los Angeles County seemed to have mapped out every inch of the land here for urban development.  In largely empty desert, country road took the name West 170th Street. That was where Saddleback Butte located.  Starting from downtown, we drove 170 city blocks to the park, amidst sand dunes, Joshua trees and tumbleweeds.

Storm over Mojave Desert

Not since our visit to Joshua Tree National Monument had we seen so much barrenness! Only a few Joshua trees braved the desert here and there. Desert bushes looked sad, skinny and dying but yet persisting. The desert floor was largely flat as rocks were rare and hills scarce. The park had restrooms, parking lot, and even picnic areas and campground. Trails were sandy and soft so it was hard to go fast.  Amazingly the showers that had just passed left not a hint of water on the ground. The desert worked like a kitchen sink with self-drying functions. A protruding rock was amply named the Little Butte that marked the halfway point between the parking lot and the large Saddleback Butte. I kept charging up to the Butte. A few healthy plants along the steep climb encouraged me to go faster and higher.

Alas! I reached the top of the Butte, with sweeping desert view to the east.  There it occurred to me that the Joshua Tree National Monument was at the south end of the same desert, Mojave Desert.  I was now standing at the Northwest corner of a very large desert. No wonder the landscape and the Joshua trees appeared so familiar.

When I came back down, it was already dark.  The ranger was looking for me, not in good mood.  The park curfew was set at sunset.  When I paid with my State Parks Foundation day pass for the parking, he insisted on cash.  The man was in a hurry to lock up and retire to his barracks as the desert night seemed unspeakably harsh and scary.  Eventually he calmed down and accepted my State Parks Foundation Membership and led the way out of the park with his huge truck.

4. Red Rock Canyon

When the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Mountains one could find Red Rock Canyon State Park at the edge of Mojave Desert. The park entrance has bright red rocks in the formation that looks like Roman architecture, simply splendid looking. We drove all the way to the Visitor's Center inside the canyon.  Although it was very spacious and far-reaching inside, it looked dull in color and formation.

We walked up a ridge.  It was a bright day, cool and slightly windy.  The visibility was outstanding.  It was fascinating to see quite a few tents on the campground; but, I would hesitate to camp here due to the absence of water and green vegetation.  Patches of desert sunflowers flashed their enthusiastic gold color under the spring sunlight, along with cacti and Indian paintbrush in flaming red; but, the dominant scene was still bare earth. 

Fantastic Geology of the Red Rock Canyon

We spent less than two hours there. On our way out, good photo opportunity presented itself as bright red rock formation hanged next to the highway.  Millions of years ago, the earth was hot and boiling; all sorts of materials melted and took on different shapes and forms.  Somehow the hot lava cooled down to the present formation, spectacular and dazzling the eyes. There were so few of us visiting such a wondrous place where many Hollywood movies were filmed.

Clouds over the Desert Floor

According to the map a Desert Tortoise Natural Area was not too far away from Red Rock Canyon.  We didn't find any tortoise there but saw a huge desert lake struggling to survive the massive evaporation.  There was an ocean of salt or borax around some water. Still the mountain laced desert view was wide and sweeping. 

5. Poppy Reserve

Poppies don’t open up in chilly mornings; that was why we went away to the mountains and desert.  As the day warmed up, we were coming back to Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, the main attraction of the trip.

While the desert was hot and cloudless, Antelope Valley still had some wind as huge clouds lurked on the horizon. Most of the poppies already opened up by 1:30 pm.  They spilled up to the hills and into the valleys. Besides poppies, huge stretches of desert gold (sunflowers) and purple owl's clover covered entire hills and valleys.  Under spring sunlight, it felt like I was walking in a dream land.  No Persian rug could weave such intricate patterns.  No canvas was big enough to contain painting so color rich. 

We bought some sandwiches in the morning to have lunch in the pleasant company of flowers. Once there, we took our time eating to let the day warm up so more flowers could sway open and flash their brilliant smiles.  After lunch, we walked a large loop trail to become intimate with all the flowers and colored fields.  Pictures were taken in the hundreds.

It was said that this year's poppies were one of the best crops in years.  Poppy season at Antelope Valley was yet to hit the peak.  But what we saw was already astonishing.

There were poppies in Northern California.  Only this year the abundant rain fall seemed to make the grass grow too tall to make room for poppies; only a precious few poppies graced the lush hills.  Antelope Valley is at the edge of the great Mojave Desert so grass doesn't do well there.  This leaves plenty of room for hardy flowers like California poppies, desert sunflowers, and Owl's clover.  So they bloom there heroically, and in great numbers.

6. Devil's Punchbowl

After the morning and afternoon activities, everyone wanted to retire to the hotel, naturally. It was only 4:15.  There was time to squeeze in another park. Snow mountains in the southwest could be seen all day long. Yesterday's showers must have dropped some fresh powders there. The map marked out a Devil's Punchbowl County Park just in that direction. So, I went.  It was half an hour drive but definitely worth the hassle. Pointed rocks stubbornly punctured the sky in a 45 degree angle. Were the rocks angry or celebrating? The only certainty was the rocks were fractured by wind, rain and many storms of centuries. 

The timing was precious, not for all the green grass and wild flowers, but for the fact San Gabriel Mountains had snow on most of the peaks, serving a picturesque background for the rocks, the valley and all the trees. I hurried to run down the valley and up to the rocks to click away with the camera.  Half an hour was all the time I had there.  I was supposed to get back to the hotel around 6 o'clock for dinner, and I came back in time.

7. Homebound

The second night nobody wanted buffet dinner any more.  Applebee's was a good choice, decent crowd, friendly service, fair price and, most importantly, reasonable amount of food properly prepared.

The rest of trip became easy. I went to bed around 9:30 but had a hard time falling into sleep. Then it occurred to me that I didn't have to travel west along Route 138 to find Highway 5 at Gorman.  We had driven up and down Route 14 earlier during the day.  This highway is straight and almost free of traffic, also connecting with Route 58 to Bakersfield.

After breakfast, we gassed up and shot a straight line up Route 14.  Both 14 and 58 had two lanes, in contrast to the single land Route 138. Route 58 offered spectacular scenery as it cut between Tahachipi Mountains on the south and Sierra Nevada on the North. Before long, large wind mills for wind energy stood over the mountain side in terrific formations.  The mountains were so huge that cars were reduced to ant size and highways ribbon-like.  Before Piute Mountains, a valley came into view: suddenly the desert view of barrenness became distant memory as fresh green hills and fields signaled the graceful presence of spring.

After driving through part of town and traffic lights to connect Route 58 to Highway 5, the rest of the way was smooth sailing.  We had lunch at Buckhorn Restaurant, an establishment mostly for long haul truckers, a little north of Los Banos and got home around 3;15.  Another round of rain had hit town, just in time to wash the dust off the car.

April 4, 2010