Aug 26, 2013

The Bloom- Antelope Valley California Poppy Revserve


Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Lancaster

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is one of the amazing things I have seen. The state flower of California- Poppy blooms on the sloppy grasslands in Mohave Desert. In good weather conditions the rolling hills are draped with fields of wild orange poppy blooms.

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Lancaster

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located in almost desert landscape and still these wild poppies bloom in unbelievable numbers!  They are wild, no-one planted them and no-one waters them! It is one special experience to walk in the endless fields of wildflowers.

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Lancaster
Poppy carpet!
Located 15 miles from Lancaster-CA the preserve is nestled in Antelope Buttes. The whole landscape looks orange. Patches of goldfields and lupines add a bit of color-contrast. Few other wildflowers seen were owl's clover, cream cups, silver puffs, forget-me-nots, lacy phacelia, pale primrose, checker fiddleneck and red-stemmed filaree. There were yellow poppies too, but very few in number.

The preserve has total 8-miles of hiking trails with negligible elevation gain. The area is very exposed and dry, and so you have to take caution about the sun and heat. Avoid visiting in the afternoons. The preserve has an entry fee of $10 per car. During peak season the parking may get full early in the morning itself. Also, winds in the area are very harsh most of the times and they sometimes carry too much of dust. The wind also affects the photography, getting one clear and sharp picture of a poppy is an achievement in itself! 

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Lancaster
One of the very few Yellow Poppies seen in the valley

As we all know how unpredictable nature is, few years the show is spectacular and some years not so much. I visited this place several times on the way to other destinations. But, the spectacular show I have seen was in the year 2008 and couple of pictures I have posted here are from that trip. Nature has millions of small wonders, I consider Antelope Valley is one of them.
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This post is linked to Our World Tuesday and Nature Notes.

If you want pictures please ask me :)
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

37 comments:

  1. Wow ! Simply amazing & captivating !

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  2. Looks mesmerising!! Excellent capture.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/

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  3. Thanks for sharing amazing photographs of Poppy blooms on the sloppy grasslands in Mohave Desert

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  4. Such gorgeous flowers and superb captures for the day as always, Kusum!! I do love the colors!! Have a wonderful week!

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  5. Wow, what an awesome sight. So beautiful and I have never seen anything like it. Gorgeous.\

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    1. Yes, you are right- there is nothing like it :)

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  6. orange carpet or more likely golden carpet for the golden state.

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  7. Wow! That's so incredibly beautiful. I love poppies.

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  8. I have never seen so many poppies. Incredible.

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  9. Wow. I had no idea this existed. What a special, beautiful spot. Love poppies and now I may love them even more!

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    1. Yes, this place comes to life only in spring because of poppies :)

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  10. What an amazing sight. The color is just brilliant.

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  11. Wow, amazing to see the fields of poppies. Lovely images! Thanks for sharing, have a happy week!

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  12. Absolutely stunning Kusum. Been to CA zillion times, never saw this. Gotta' go again. How lovely.

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    1. Mid-March to Mid-Aril is the time! Otherwise it looks like the surrounding desert!

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  13. Kasum, what a brilliant landscape. Your photos are a feast for the eyes and heart!

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  14. WOW!!! Just quite simply wow!

    Mollyxxx

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  15. Wow - your shots are stunning! What a glorious place.

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  16. Captivating post with lovely pictures:)

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  17. Hello Kusum..I added your link as I saw your comment and realized that there wasn't a link and nobody wants to miss these beautiful flowers... The extreme dry and heat would make it a challenge.. But you are always up to one and successful... thank you for sharing some nature this week..Michelle

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    1. Oh! I had added the link :( Thanks anyway Michelle.

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  18. OMG, that first landscape photo is stupendously spectacular, haha. I also smiled at my adjectives. I haven't seen them in others' blogs yet. I've seen yellows, whites and purple flowers of spring, but orange, i haven't. That third photo is so dramatic too, as usual your photos are great, and thanks.

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    1. Thank you Kalantikan! Few places are popular for different colors!

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