Lake Elsinore Wildflower Fun

Last March we hopped in the car and headed south in search of California wildflowers during Zoe’s Spring Break, and we’ve never seen anything like it. Our first stop was Lake Elsinore where we stayed at the second sketchiest motel we’ve ever stayed in (ask Matti about my 35th birthday in middle of nowhere Utah for more info on the first). Our sulphur spring fed tub made the entire room smell like rotten eggs and every surface was sticky. It was only for one night and put us in a good spot to get to the “Super Bloom” early the next morning.

We were travelling with the dog Max, so we couldn’t leave him in the car and take the shuttle bus to the main Walker Canyon trail where all the crazy pictures were taken. We were able to drive and park nearby at a less crowded trail that was still beautiful thanks to the advice from a nice local.  

There have been lots of stories about poppy trampling in the news. It’s true. We witnessed a professional photo shoot and all kinds of bad behavior. You could see where people destroyed patches of flowers, too. Back in the olden days you had to look up the most recent Flickr pictures of popular wildflower places to see what was happening. 

 Zoe is a flower fan! She was a little freaked out climbing up the mountain, but was soon having fun. 

Phacelia campanularia freak out! It wasn’t all orange, there were bursts of blue and yellow. 

More yellow flowered fun with Encelia farinosa. Unfortunately our stop at the Lancaster poppy fields was overcast, so they weren’t open. It was still pretty cool. We already have a loose plan for this years Spring Break wildflower bloom quest with a long stop in the desert.