EAT DESSERT FIRST

You'll have to visit old Cabo San Lucas to get one of these.

JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH...

...of California's blue and gold

There are literally hundreds of species of Lupine.

Here on Figueroa Mountain, Lupine was so profuse, my friend Joan commented that its rich, powerful perfume reminded her of Nehi Grape Soda. Well it's no wonder. Her astute observation simply alerted us to the likelihood we were smelling Lupinus excubitus (grape soda lupine)!

Many many varieties of California Poppies, Eschscholzia californica, exist with colors ranging from yellow to golden to deep orange.

These poppies are happy-making flowers, for seeing them reminds us Winter is behind us.

SYCAMORES, CONDORS, OAKS...

...bats, night skies unpolluted by light, 400 species of bees and over 100 species of wildflowers. PINNACLES NATIONAL MONUMENT in San Benito County, California is a springtime paradise for hikers, rock climbers, birders and wildflower enthusiasts.

LOOK! Up in the sky...the folks with bird binoculars swore this is one of the park's resident California condors. Looks like a condor to me, alright!

This only APPEARS to be a dead tree.

Actually, it's alive with fungi,

Abundant woodpecker activity, stashed acorns (not olives!),

and ants. They're there -- guess you'll have to trust me again!

In my former life (young, agile and svelte) I made annual treks to Pinnacles, always before May's heat, to hike its trails and caves, watch the rock climbers, and to follow its wildly diverse wildflower bloom throughout the park's different elevations and habitats.

Until about four years ago, the only camping facilities, located at the East entrance, were privately owned and located outside the park boundaries by a little over a mile. The National Park Service has purchased the campground (with its pool and showers), and has embarked on a program of improvements that include the addition of hook ups and a dump for RVers. It's a lovely campground, *very* busy on Spring weekends; it does take reservations, and the best part is that old pharts can camp with hookups at half price: $18.00 a night.

Up the hill from the campground, at the Bear Gulch Nature Center (the original Visitor Center), there is limited parking for motorhomes so it's best that you have a toad or plan on an uphill hike from the campground if you want to push off to the various other trail heads.

On the East side of the park, Highway 25, a favorite of cyclists, is one of California's loveliest backroads, especially mid-week!

DISCOVERIES...

...a blog, a website, a wildflower, an author, a travel writer. FOLLOW ME!

First, the blog. My dear, dear friend, Art Berggreen's blog, "Art's Work"

http://arts-work.blogspot.com/

is just a tease for the beautiful photographic work that channels through his brain and his eye to the camera and the "page." Trust me -- I've been the fortunate beneficiary of some private showings, and I can only hope Art will share them with you too as his blog continues to blossom. Art recently graduated from a high-end, but vanilla, digital to a very high end DSLR camera . His blog photos are taken with the new camera; he claims he's still "practicing." You decide.

It was Art who helped me understand the workings of digital cameras, who helped set up my new one, who helped me transition and recover from my film-to-digital neuroses, and has since patiently answered plenty of some pretty stooopid questions.

Another neat thing about Art? He and his lovely wife Barbara know where the wildflowers are! And birds. Checking out his blog will put smiles on your face. Go there!

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I have literally dozens of wildflower books, guides and plant lists for regions all across the country. They add a LOT of weight to my motorhome, but having them at my fingertips is an imperative. Hunting down, identifying and photographing wildflowers is my avocation. It just took one gentle, inspiring nudge from my mother-in-law, Merle Dunham, forty years ago, and I was hooked. I love finding an "UNK" (unknown) flower so I can traipse through pictorial tomes until the elusive plant is pinned down, identified and given a proper name.

Here is this Spring season's former UNK, "Indian Warrior," found in the Sierra foothills in mid-March.

Indian Warrior, no longer an "UNK," is a member of the Snapdragon family. Interestingly, its petals somewhat resemble the Bee Balm plant, a member of the Mint family. (Below, photographed in the Great Smoky Mtns NP last Summer)

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The other day I received an email from a man I've never met, Mark Dixon, who admired my blog, noted that I "like wildflowers" then directed me to his and his wife, Darice's website:

http://wildflowerswest.org/

Dear gentle readers, if you are at all interested in close up, in-your-face macro photographs of and information about wildflowers, pollinating bugs, lichen or fungi, the Dixons' website is THE place to start for inspiration and information. I just spent most of a rainy afternoon cruising through the Dixons' web pages and links. Navigating through it is straightforward and simple; it's logically organized; it contains fantastic close up photographs; it abounds with informative little tidbits and details and, most important, is a worthwhile addition to your reference tools. Go there!

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Another nature photographer, fellow Lazy Daze RV traveler, Martha Marks, is not only a professional photographer of bugs, beasts and birds who sells prints of her art, she has recently published her first novel. This is an extraordinary woman, a remarkable photographer, a dedicated activist, and now a published mystery writer whose book, "Rubies of the Viper," is receiving great reviews on Amazon. If you are a birder, Martha's website is a bookmark-must for admiring and identifying our flying friends. Admire her photographs, read about her activism, read about her book (or buy the book!), visit her gift shop. You will be glad you "met" this woman. Go there!

http://www.marthamarks.com/index.html

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Heidi Young, one of the notorious Baja Babes, is a talented full time Lazy Daze RVer, who works while she explores the country. I've traveled and partied with Heidi here and there over the years and believe her enlightening chronicles deserve an audience.

Heidi's recent, most compatible-to-her-skills-and-aspirations endeavor is writing travel articles for an on-line magazine, "Ft. Myers Examiner." She gets paid by the "hit" and so since I'm selfishly hoping she'll still be around for many more raucous road trips with me, I'm hoping lots of you will hit on Heidi. OH! WAIT! I meant, hit on her articles!! Click on this URL to get to her page, then click on "subscribe," insert your eddress, and you'll be notified when her articles are ready for viewing. There are no fees or costs to subscribe. Go there!

http://www.examiner.com/x-35849-Ft-Myers-RV-Travel-Examiner

Heidi's blog entries usually include comments or critiques, depending on his mood, by Rylie, her entertaining but impudent, furry traveling companion!

http://travelswithrylie.blogspot.com/

THE WISDOM OF MARK TWAIN

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely. Broad, wholesome, charitable views cannot be acquired by vegetating in one's little corner of earth."

From "Innocents Abroad," 1869

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My antidote? Try the road less traveled. Even if it's corrugated and dusty! If at first you can't find the road, try clicking on the photo to enlarge it.

The hills were literally carpeted with tiny yellow Goldfields, yellow Hillside Daisies and yellow-orange Fiddleneck, giving the Carrizo Plain its Springtime glow.

PAT MAC...

... hanging out! And wishing you all a "Happy Monday"!!

CARRIZO PLAIN...

At times better known for the clear visibility of the San Andreas Fault system, in the Spring, the Temblor Range is best known for its glorious wildflower displays.

To better appreciate the Temblor Range in all its Easter splendor, click to enlarge.