Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 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. The region received 6½
An estimated 150,000 peo- inches (165 millimeters) of
ple in the past month have rain from December to
converged on Borrego In this March 19, 2017, photo, visitors walk among the poppy bloom at Antelope Valley California February, followed by al-
Springs, a town of about Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, Calif. Associated Press most two weeks of 90-de-
3,500 that abuts the park. gree temperatures, set-
Rain-fed wildflowers are warm temperatures pro- restaurants ran out of food, has even pitched in with a ting the conditions for the
springing up in different duced carpets of flowers in and some visitors relieved 24-hour wildflower hotline super bloom. Five years of
landscapes across the Death Valley. themselves in the fields. to find the best spots at the drought made the seeds
state and the western Unit- The natural show at Anza- Officials have since set up state park. ready to pop.
ed States. In the Antelope Borrego is expected to roll an army of Port-A-Pottys, “We’ve seen everything Humans also helped. Park
Valley, an arid plateau along through May, with and eateries have stocked from people in normal hik- staff, volunteers and fe-
northeast of Los Angeles, different species blooming up. The craze has been ing attire to people in de- male prisoners have been
signer flip-flops to women removing the Sahara Mus-
in sundresses and strappy tard plant, an invasive spe-
heels hike out there to cies believed brought to
get their picture. When I California in the 1920s with
saw that, I thought, ‘Oh another plant, the date
no. Please don’t go out palm. Sahara Mustard had
there with those shoes been covering popular
on,’” laughed Linda Had- wildflower areas, said Jim
dock, head of the Borrego Dice, research manager
Springs Chamber of Com- at the Anza-Borrego Des-
merce. ert Research Center.
On a recent day, a young Sandra Reel and her hus-
woman sat among knee- band drove hundreds of
high desert sunflowers and miles out of their way when
shot selfies against the they heard about this
backdrop of yellow blooms year’s super bloom.
that looked almost neon in “It is absolutely phenome-
contrast to the brown land- nal to see this many bloom-
scape. A mother jumped ing desert plants all at the
in the air as her daughter same time,” she said. “I
In this March 27, 2017, photo, Camille Perkins, left, of Dana Point, Calif., takes a picture of her snapped her photo among think it’s probably a once-
mother, Cynthia Perkins jumping among blooming desert shrubs in Borrego Springs, Calif. yellow brittlebushes. in-a-lifetime thing.”q
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.
(1,000-square-mile) Anza- Deputies were brought in Wildflower enthusiasts
Borrego State Park. to handle the traffic jams worldwide track the
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.
right amount of rainfall and stuck in traffic for five hours, The National Park Service In this March 27, 2017, photo, a visitor takes a selfie among wild-
flowers in Borrego Springs, Calif. Associated Press