February 27-28, 2016 Death Valley, California

It was so pretty on the desert that we went back and camped at Ibex Dunes.

The dunes are in the southern part of the valley, so remote that hardly anyone goes there and you have to hike to them so they are very pristine. See how green the desert is now. Rivelets of flowers coming down a fan.

John hiking to the dunes.

Me dancing in the flowers. I love this shot because the hiking boots look really funky with the sun dress. There were huge fields of sand verbena by the dunes.

Sunset colors on the dunes and long shadows from the flowers on the way back.

Our feet were yellow from pollen. I seem to have developed an allergy to the bloom and have been miserable. Probably from a massive dose of pollen over many days. . .Our campsite by the dunes.

The view of the dunes in the morning from our campsite. Our next stop was Saratoga Springs. An amazingly lush spot on the desert.

These walls are about all that are left of a resort that was at the springs. The phacilia’s were going nuts around the springs.

There were whole fields of color. The phacilia don’t show up well in the these photos, but they are bright purple. John is in the second shot so yo can see who big the flower fields are.

There was also a nice mix of flowers. This convoluted mountain is on the way out from the springs. Death Valley is the most geologically active place in the world and there is no pesky vegetation to get in the way of viewing the geology. People come from all over to study here.

I found the name of the red flowers, they are broad leafed gila, snake tracks, purple mat, evening primroses, a horn worm that eats the flowers and a lizard.

Cool rock, rock daisies, some kind of crinkly plant, and an ant carrying a huge dead bloom. They looked like the ants were wearing hats. A yellow clover and another view of the colorful flower eating horn worm.

February 26, 2016 Death Valley, California

After our night with Judy on her B2B hike in Death Valley we went out to see the flowers of the superbloom. It really is spectacular. In the mid 80’s during the day and low 50’s at night. Clear and sunny.

Sunset on the playa by camp. There are vast fields of the desert golds. But intermixed we found this huge field of yellow suncups, mixed with white evening primrose,vibrant pink sand verbena and pink 5 spots.

The same yellow sun cup mix. Also fields of pink sand verbena.

These desert golds are near Ashford Mill.

We then when up on the  Warm Springs Road where there were more vast fields of desert gold.But there was a little more diversity up there. Here is waist high desert golds with knee high desert 5 spots. The 5 spots usually get to about 6 inches high. Everything  is bigger and better this year.  Loved these desert golds running down the rivelets –probably where the water ran- on this red butte.

Warm Springs come right out of the rock, and it is warm. There was a mining settlement at Warm Springs, all the miners that worked for Louise Granthem, who Judy wrote a book about. It was the best place to work, there was air conditioning in the bunk houses, a pool, better wages and treatment, better food. All around nicer. This settlement closed down in 1985. It was so cool, green and nice we sat by the pool and rested for about an hour.

One of Louise’s talc mines, this one is pretty close to Warm Springs. Sunset as we left the valley.

These are some of the flowers we saw, but by no means all. The top two suculent plants are Desert Portulaca, Portulaca halminoides, a pale desert gold and my boots covered in flower pollen. Oops, got two of the desert gold, some sand verbena and evening primroses, a pale yellow evening primrose that we don’t know if it is a pale version of the others or a different species, cracked mud with desert golds.

Pin cushion, purple phacilia with  sun cups, and gravel ghost in the lower photo, tiny false wooly daisies. Desert 5 spots, they are usually not this tall or prolific, this is just one plant, turtle back and phacilia.

Crypanthia, tiny red flowers we don’t what are, and I think I have seen the spiney thing after it dies, never seen it blooming, and no idea what it is. The last three are desert chicory and I would call the last two desert dandelion, but we are confused and not sure. So may flowers this year.

February 23-25, 2016 Shoshone to Death Valley, California

It has cooled off for a few days into the 70’s, but still sunny and beautiful.

Evening light on downtown Shoshone was lovely as I started out on a short hike by the river for sunset. Gravel ghost buds, dried mud patterns and Alysium.

I took this panorama of the sunset then was suprised to find it all reflected in the river as I crossed back over.

More river sunset. When I got back Jeff our friend from Colorado who also lives on the road in his van Barley was visiting. He said we fed him last time he visited so he came back. We fed him again. Last week  he fell and twisted his knee too. He is elevating it here. I think his is  not as bad as mine because he was still doing some  short hikes. I don’t think I could have walked that far just a week after my twist.

Judy is still on the B2B hike. This is her licence plate on her car. John , I and a couple friends hiked in a short distance to camp a night with her. My knee is better!!

The flowers have even gotten better if that is possible.

Amargosa River with some desert golds. John and Susan hiking along the river to meet Judy on her B2b hike.

We hiked through fields and valleys of wild flowers. Patrick is the dot in the right of the first photo and John is in the middle of the second one.

Patrick and Susan hiking along the dry lake bed we camped beside. John setting our tent up in a field of wild flowers.

Judy in front of her tent with a mule shoe that was found on a possible 20 mule team route through the valley. Our tent is in the back ground. Me shaking a leg in the sunset on the playa of the the dry lake. Really a beautiful place to camp.

Judy and Patrick by Judy’s tent in the wild flowers at last light. Back lit evening primrose and crypanthia in the morning light.

Hillsides and valleys of flowers. Ducks on the Amargosa river.