Page 32 - aruba-today-20170404

A32

FEATURETuesday 4 April 2017

California’s desert wildflower explosion draws record crowds

JULIE WATSON The blooms are attracting
Associated Press hungry sphinx moth cater-
BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif. pillars that munch through
(AP) — An explosion of wild- acres. The caterpillars in

flowers in California’s des- turn are attracting droves

ert sands is drawing record of Swainson hawks on their
crowds to see the rare annual 6,000-mile (9,656-ki-
abundance of color called lometer) migration from Ar-

a “super bloom.” gentina.

The natural wonder is “It’s an amazing burst in
thanks to a wet winter fol- the cycle of life in the des-
lowed by warm tempera- ert that has come because
tures in the Anza-Borrego of a freakish event like a su-

State Park, northeast of San per bloom,” Haddock said.

Diego. Wildflower seeds “It’s exciting. This is going to
that have been dormant be so huge for our econo-
for years in the drought- my.”

plagued region have This year’s display has

sprouted in mass, produc- been especially stunning,
ing a spectacular display experts say.
not seen in 20 years.
An estimated 150,000 peo- The region received 6½
inches (165 millimeters) of

ple in the past month have In this March 19, 2017, photo, visitors walk among the poppy bloom at Antelope Valley California rain from December to
converged on Borrego Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, Calif. February, followed by al-
Springs, a town of about most two weeks of 90-de-
3,500 that abuts the park. Associated Press gree temperatures, set-
ting the conditions for the
Rain-fed wildflowers are warm temperatures pro- restaurants ran out of food, has even pitched in with a super bloom. Five years of
drought made the seeds
springing up in different duced carpets of flowers in and some visitors relieved 24-hour wildflower hotline ready to pop.
Humans also helped. Park
landscapes across the Death Valley. themselves in the fields. to find the best spots at the staff, volunteers and fe-
male prisoners have been
state and the western Unit- The natural show at Anza- Officials have since set up state park. removing the Sahara Mus-
tard plant, an invasive spe-
ed States. In the Antelope Borrego is expected to roll an army of Port-A-Pottys, “We’ve seen everything cies believed brought to
California in the 1920s with
Valley, an arid plateau along through May, with and eateries have stocked from people in normal hik- another plant, the date
palm. Sahara Mustard had
northeast of Los Angeles, different species blooming up. The craze has been ing attire to people in de- been covering popular
wildflower areas, said Jim
signer flip-flops to women Dice, research manager
at the Anza-Borrego Des-
in sundresses and strappy ert Research Center.
Sandra Reel and her hus-
heels hike out there to band drove hundreds of
miles out of their way when
get their picture. When I they heard about this
year’s super bloom.
saw that, I thought, ‘Oh “It is absolutely phenome-
nal to see this many bloom-
no. Please don’t go out ing desert plants all at the
same time,” she said. “I
there with those shoes think it’s probably a once-
in-a-lifetime thing.”q
on,’” laughed Linda Had-

dock, head of the Borrego

Springs Chamber of Com-

merce.

On a recent day, a young

woman sat among knee-

high desert sunflowers and

shot selfies against the

backdrop of yellow blooms

that looked almost neon in

contrast to the brown land-

scape. A mother jumped

in the air as her daughter

In this March 27, 2017, photo, Camille Perkins, left, of Dana Point, Calif., takes a picture of her snapped her photo among
yellow brittlebushes.
mother, Cynthia Perkins jumping among blooming desert shrubs in Borrego Springs, Calif.

Associated Press

blazing orange poppies at different elevations and dubbed “Flowergeddon.”

are lighting up the ground. in different areas. The state Tour groups from as far as
But the “super bloom” park is California’s largest, Japan and Hong Kong
— mass amounts of des- with hundreds of species of have flown in to catch

ert plants blooming at plants including desert lil- the display before it fades

once — has been concen- ies, blazing stars and the away with the rising tem-

trated in the 640,000-acre flaming tall, spiny Ocotillo. peratures. enthusiasts
(1,000-square-mile) Anza- Deputies were brought in Wildflower track the
Borrego State Park. to handle the traffic jams worldwide

In California, super blooms as Borrego Springs saw its blooms online and ar-

happen about once in a population triple in a single rive for rare sightings like
decade in a given area. day. this year’s Bigelow’s Mon-
They have been occur- On one particularly key flower, some of which

ring less frequently with packed weekend in mid- have grown to 8 inches

the drought. Last year, the March, motorists were (203 millimeters) in height. In this March 27, 2017, photo, a visitor takes a selfie among wild-

right amount of rainfall and stuck in traffic for five hours, The National Park Service flowers in Borrego Springs, Calif. Associated Press