1. Gorman Post Road, along I-5, south of the central valley of California in the spring. This is a strange choice as Number 1, but I think it has to be; I've never seen anything like it. It's strange because you can't really hike among it, and some of it is a tad more distant than your usual wildflower adventure. When you drive south on I-5, out of the central valley and up into the mountains, you go over Tejon Pass and then begin to descend a bit. A couple miles later you approach Gorman Post Rd, which briefly runs parallel to the interstate, and you are greeted by a psychedelic vista that is truly unbelievable. The rounded rolling hills that border Gorman Post Rd on the eastern side are literally covered with color, yellow and blue and orange and pink. It looks as if a rainbow has melted over the hills like hot fudge over ice cream. I can't do it justice with mere words, and can't possibly exaggerate how really wonderful it was. Yu have to see it to believe it, and like so much of the botany in this part of California, it requires sufficient winter rainfall to really spread its wings and soar.
And so there you have it, my Top Ten Favorite Wildflower Places. A few places that got left off list were Saddle Mt. in Oregon, Red Rock Canyon in the western Mojave Desert of California, and the spring wildflowers along the path in what is known as the Heron Rookery in northern Indiana. Maybe this was all just a little bit too much silliness, but pondering all these places reminded me of how lucky I've been...
"The Best Wildflower Places - Part Two" (c) 2005 Gregg M. Pasterick - All Rights Reserved.
All Photographs (c) Gregg M. Pasterick - All Rights Reserved.
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