The wildflower bloom at Carrizo Plain National Monument was like a haunting siren song – granted though, it didn’t require much seducing to draw me back to the place that I had visited only two weeks ago.
My friend Peter and I coordinated a two-day trip quite spontaneously – a couple of text messages and we were ready to go. We really made good use of our time! We drove in from the south on day one (my favorite approach), traversing the monument on Soda Lake. We then took Elkhorn Road from north to south (exiting via Elkhorn Grade) on the second day. The second day in particular was one continued highlight from beginning to end, since Elkhorn Road is pretty close to the foot of the Temblor Range – where the most dazzling displays of wildflowers were.
Weather was quite interesting, mostly overcast and on the second day rain was passing over the plain north and west of us. This weather of course meant that we didn’t get the most radiant colors of sunlit wildflowers, but instead, nice and even colors and very manageable contrast – conditions which I quite favor anyway.
Here are the first couple of photos, for now – I have many more and will update this post as time permits. Some of my Carrizo Plain photos are available as prints in my store, please have a look if you’re interested: Carrizo Plain Prints (link opens in a new browser tab).
All images and content © by Alexander S. Kunz, unless otherwise noted. No re-use without express written permission. Most images are available as prints and for commercial licensing. Please contact me with any questions. Prints and licensed images are NOT watermarked, of course.
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Hi Alex, I met you, Peter, Norm and Sandra right on the hill overlooking the majestic multicolored Temblor Range peak, as the distant storm was approaching. It’s a pleasant surprise to actually see your photos now on the internet. They are as beautiful as the real scenery! Cheers.
Wow – I’m astonished that you found me and my photos after our brief meeting. What a nice surprise to hear from you! I’m happy to hear that my photos transport the scenery as you had seen it. I was back there once more and hiked all the way to the top of the colorful mountain. The bloom was a bit past its peak but it was still wonderful. I’ve yet to post the pictures!
Hiking up to the top of that colorful peak was my unfulfilled dream–could not make to Carrizo Plain this past week. Glad you did it! Look forward to those pictures of yours.
Thank you Helen – I’ve just added the first few photos to a new blog post: Carrizo Plain, Once More – I hope you like them!