• One of Jane's paintings.

Drive to a California State Park to feel the spring season!

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Drive to a California State Park for one day trip 

We had more rain than usual this spring.

 

Finally, warm and fine weather came back to Los Angeles!

 

We went to a one day trip to see bright orange poppy flowers which start to bloom this time of year.

 

We went there in the middle of the month of March.

 

The flowers have just started to bloom so they were not fully blossemed yet.

 

The location where we could see the poppy flowers is Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

in the Mojave Desert.

 

The entrance of Poppy Reserve.

 

Just one and a half hours, about sixty-eight miles from Los Angeles city by car.

 

The map is as below

 

Map of california poppy

 

Actually, the Poppy was designated as the California official state flower in 1903. 

 

I did not know this fact.

 

Many years before, we could see poppies were everywhere in California.

 

However, the poppy numbers are decreasing year by year and now only can be seen in this

Antelope Valley and a few other places.

 

This is because the Poppy was negatively influenced by land development and by lack of rainfall.

 

Poppies with bright orange petals.

 

This state park protects poppy flowers by keeping them natural and undisturbed by humans.   

 

Also, there are many trails in the park so we can enjoy hiking as well.

 

There are many trails among the hills.

 

Great landscape, view from the hill covered with poppy flowers.

 

The beginning of Poppy Reserve 

This area was designated as a Poppy Reserve in 1976.

 

One woman was dedicated to protecting Poppy named Jane Seymour Pinheiro.

 

She moved to Antelope Valley in 1940 with her husband.  

 

 

She became intrigued with desert plants, and she began to sketch and make paintings of them

as a self-taught artist.

 

Her watercolor renditions are so botanically correct that they are used for identification purpose.

 

One of Jane’s paintings.

 

Later she was to become an authority on local desert plants.

 

So the Jane Seymore Pinheiro Interpretive Center is named in honor of her.

 

This building is Jane Seymour Pinheiro Interpretive Center.

 

The volunteer members explained about Poppy’s specific information.

 

The Poppy is a very sensitive flower 

Well, did you know that these bright orange Poppies are significantly influenced by weather and

they are a very sensitive flower?

 

Poppies need a rainstorm that deposits at least 1/2 to 3/4 inches of rain before any significant number

of seeds will germinate.

 

Maximum poppy germination occurs following storms that deposit 1 1/2 to 2 inches of rain.

 

Any more than two inches in one storm and poppy seed germination decreases.

 

Also, the number of rainfalls in the winter season is important.

 

Covered with Poppies inside the park.

 

The Reserve has had outstanding poppy displays with as little as seven inches of total rainfall,

but with that small amount, the timing and strength of the individual storms are particularly important.

 

Over last twenty years, the Reserve’s annual rainfall has averaged about twelve inches per year, ranging

from a low of three inches to a high of twenty-six inches.

 

The best season to start germinating in late October or early November.

 

These are buds of poppy.

 

Earlier than this, there is a risk that the germinated plants will die in the still-high autumn temperatures

or the delay before the next rainstorm may be too long.

 

If storms start too much later than this, the soil has cooled and the young plants have shallower root

systems that are at higher risk from freezes or early spring hot spells. 

 

Rainstorms in late February and March and even April are necessary to allow the plants to continue

to grow throughout the flowering season.

 

For maximum peak color, it is better to have had a single storm with the optimum rainfall, rather than

a series of moderate storms spread throughout the winter months.

 

Now I know how important is each rainstorm and the number of rainfalls for Poppies.

 

However, nowadays the weather is extremely variable so I hope that poppies can survive in such

a climate.

 

In the first half of the blooming season, when the soil is more moist, the orange dot is large enough to

completely cover the petals, creating the orange blossoms associated with the California poppy.

 

Later in the season, when the soil is drier, orange dot and the yellow starts to show. 

 

At the end of the flowering season, the petals are almost all yellow. 

 

When we went to the Reserve, poppies had not fully bloomed yet.

 

As a sensitive flower, Poppies bloom in a different area and the numbers of flowers change every year.

 

So if you want to see poppies, check the timing on the website in advance.

 

About Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve 

↓ ↓ ↓

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627

 

Warning points in Poppy Reserve 

There are some warning signs in the Poppy Reserve.

 

There are some warning on the boards.

 

Do NOT pick the wildflowers!


Everything is protected, from the tiniest wildflower to the rocks on the trail. 

 

Damaging or collecting anything from the park is prohibited.

 

Poppies wilt immediately after being picked, and they hold the seeds that poppies need for the

next year’s wildflower.

 

I saw some tourists were taking photos while they were sitting on the poppy flowers. 

 

Volunteer members told them not to sit on the flowers, but they ignored the instructions!

 

After they left that place, the poppy flowers wilted.

 

Stay on the official trails only!

Taking a picture, while standing off the trail, will crush all the plants along the way and

compact the soil, leaving lifeless bare dirt for the next few years or longer. 

 

We saw a family walking in the plants’ area.

 

Volunteer members shouted to back to the trail, but the intruders ignored the warnings.

 

I felt bad about these kinds of rude people.

 

Do not bring dogs

 

No foods inside the Reserve other than water!  

Warning for Rattlesnakes.

 

And I recommend visiting the park in the early morning.

 

Long line of cars going to the parking lot.

 

We got there around 10 AM.

 

However, already the parking lot was already almost full.

 

So we parked on the road, outside of the park then walked to the park.

 

When we got back to our car, even though the roadside was busy and almost packed with many cars!

 

When we back to our car, the road was so busy with many cars!

 

Also, the road is a “no parking” area according to posted signs.

 

We were lucky because some cars were getting a parking ticket by police.

 

So these are the reasons why I recommend to visit there in the early morning.

 

Information about Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

(You can search the exact time for the season of poppies.)

↓ ↓ ↓

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627

 

The famous big rock formation ” Vasquez Rocks”

Well, after we visited Poppy Reserve then we drove to the famous rock formation called

” Vasquez Rocks”  

 

The entrance of Vasquez Rocks.

 

Why these rocks are famous?

 

Because these rocks are used in many films, TV dramas, and commercials.

 

Star Trek, Austin Powers and The Bionic Woman are familiar to Japanese. 

 

These had episodes filmed here.

 

This place is in about 50 minutes by car form Poppy Reserve.

 

 

These rocks are the famous rocks called Vasquez Rock.

 

We can climb up on the rock and there are some trails as well.

 

The history of Vasquez Rocks 

These rock formations were formed by rapid erosion during uplift about 25 million years ago.

 

We can feel nature at this place.

 

First, the Tatavian who were the native Indians in South California was living here when

the Spanish arrived.

 

Their language was most likely a Takic Uto-Aztecan language.

 

After the Spanish missions come to the area, some of these people were forced to work with them.

 

They eventually began speaking Spanish.

 

The last Tatavian people died in 1916. 

 

In 1874, Tiburcio Vasquez, one of California’s most notorious bandits, used to hide in these rocks to

escape from capture by police.

 

He was one of the famous bandits in California.

 

So people started to call this rock with his name, Vasquez Rocks

 

 

Information about Vasquez Rocks Natural Area

↓ ↓ ↓

http://parks.lacounty.gov/vasquez-rocks-natural-area-and-nature-center/

 

So, I have introduced you to some great places to drive this time.

 

If you have a chance, I highly recommend that you go to these places.

 

Thank you for reading my blog today as well!

 

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