Regensburger Photography

Tag: wildflowers

  • Carrizo Plain Wildflowers

    I drove out to the Carrizo Plain National Monument on a recent trip to California in hopes of seeing the superbloom there.  Other than fickle weather, I was not disappointed.  The flowers were everywhere.  The most abundant places to see wildflowers in Carrizo Plain were near Soda Lake and up in the foothills of the Temblor Range, along the Elkhorn Road, just past the Wallace Creek marker. The south side of Soda Lake had some of the densest patches of flowers I’ve seen.  I drove along the Simmler raid to the ELkhorn Road and this seemed to have the densest flowers.  The park rangers had said people had gotten stuck on the Simmler Road but this would be quite difficult.  It was a little sandy in a couple of spots but otherwise was drivable in a car.  Unfortunately, the wind was howling the day I was there so it was hard to capture the wildflowers’ beauty without a little motion blur.  

    I camped in dispersed camping along the south end of the Elkhart Road.  I froze overnight in my tent in the park.  It got down to 34 degrees and I was only prepared to camp in the much warmer desert areas.  

    If you’re planning to visit Carrizo Plain National Monument, it is about a 45 minute drive from San Luis Obispo or a two hour drive from Gorman, near the Antelope Poppy Reserve.  I drove in 5to the park from the south on highway 58.  It was a beautiful drive as even the hills along the road were filled with flowers.      

  • Shrine Ridge Wildflowers

    Shrine Ridge

    I backpacked to the summit of Shrine Ridge near Vail, CO.  The wildflowers were bountiful again this year although not quite as good as last year.  Lupine and red paintbrush were the predominant varieties with some alpine sunflowers and others mixed in.  I camped near the top so I could do some night photography in the moonlight and catch sunrise on the ridge.  A thunderstorm hung around until after midnight so I had to wait a while before the moon came out.  I was rewarded with some fantastic photo ops when the moon finally emerged.  Although I could not see all the flowers, the meadow was filled with flowers.  Once the sun came up, I was amazed with the color and variety of flowers.

    Trail directions

    Shine Ridge is located at the summit of Vail Pass, 10 miles east of Vail.  Take the exit for the rest area at the summit and drive on the dirt road to the right for about 2.5 miles.  Park at the trail head (get there early because the lot fills quickly).  The trail begins by wandering through willow in a boggy area.  It climbs past a small pond and then climbs steeply past some meadows of paintbrush.  As you climb, you will cross a small creek.  Stay on the main trail at the 1 mile marker where it meets a spur trail leading from a mountain inn.  After about 1.25 miles, the trail flattens out briefly as you reach the base of the ridge.  Snow cornices linger here well into summer.  The trail veers right and climbs again steeply up to the ridge.  At the summit, veer right and explore the wildflower-filled meadow.  Views of the Holy Cross Wilderness open up to the west.

  • Death Valley and Alabama Hills

    I spent spring break this year in California focusing mainly on Death Valley and the Alabama Hills.  I also took a detour due to weather to Mt. Figueroa in southern California near Santa Barbara to check out the wildflower bloom.

    Mt. Figueroa

    With the biggest El Nino on record having formed in the Pacific, it figured to be a great wildflower year in the desert southwest.  Unfortunately, the moisture stayed farther north unlike 2005 when an unprecedented wildflower bloom occurred in the desert.  It was not an exceptional year across California for wildflowers, but Mt. Figueroa did not disappoint.  In partocular, the bush lupine were exploding with color.  I also found one field exploding with poppies and small lupine.  The wind and cool temperatures kept the poppies closed, however, during my visit.  It was quite a steep hike down but worth the effort,

    Alabama Hills

    The Alabama Hills is located at the base of the Mt. Whitney Portal near Lone Pine, CA.  Mainly known as a place where many westerns were filmed, the hills are now a prime spot for nature photography due to the presence of several small arches throughout the rocky outcroppings. I had long planned to get the classic shot of Mt Whitney being lit by the rising sun through one of the arches. I was beginning to wonder if the weather would cooperate, however, as clouds obscured the peaks upon my arrival.  Luckily, skies cleared overnight and I was treated to beautiful alpine glow on the Sierras at sunrise the next morning.

    Three arches, Lathe, Heart, and Mobius are located off a loop trail, accessed from one of the main parking lots.  Lathe was my favorite.  It is a small scale version of Mesa Arch in Canyonlands.  After leaving the arch loop trail, I had trouble locating the other ones in the area, however.  I had bought a guide book but all the directions were in GPS coordinates.  No physical directions were given.  Next time I will come prepared with a GPS to find the other arches.

    Death Valley

    I spent two days in Death Valley.  I took the one-way drive down Titus Canyon.  I enjoyed the drive despite the bumpy dirt road (definitely requires high clearance).  Near the summit, I hiked a steep trail to an overlook of the area. I then shot a few photos in the narrows of the canyon.

    I spent the rest of my time around the Artist Drive and Zabriskie Point.  I even got in a few shots along the Devil’s Golf Course.  I got sunset just in time at Zabriskie Point and then went up there again for sunrise.

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