Story and photos
by Bill Patterson

What makes a great weekend? A great weekend can take on many forms. A visit with friends and family. A chance to enjoy the outdoors. Some great music at a rock concert. Taking in an NBA game watching your favorite team play. 

On a recent trip to California to see my son Will and his girlfriend Jordan Joeckel, I had a chance to combine all these on my visit. The original plan was for me to fly out and catch a Marshall Tucker Band concert with Will and Jordan, then later in the weekend go to the game. I was fortunate that the trip coincided with a rare super bloom of wild flowers in Southern California. 

This event happens when the normally dry arid high desert gets lots of rain over the winter and early spring. This rain will germinate seeds that have been dormant for decades, just waiting for the right conditions to unleash a bloom that can be seen for miles. 

On the two days between the concert and the basketball game, I chased the super bloom over Southern California. It was spectacular! Pictures can’t do justice to a hillside full of the California poppy. The poppy is the state flower of California and after this trip, I can see why. 

Lake Elsinore, southeast of Los Angeles, was so crowded the week after I was there, that they had to shut down the interstate and the state park because of the crowds. Some of the places I visited were: Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Elsinore State Park, Diamond Valley Lake State Park and Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

Some of the wildflowers in the photos: California Poppy, Arroyo Lupine, California Goldfields, Brittlebush, Owl’s Clover, Caterpillar Phacelia, Canterbury Bells, Chia, Baby Blue Eyes, Rancher’s Fiddleneck, Bush Monkey Flower, Indian Paintbrush, Forget-me-not, Tidy Tips and Red Maids.

It was amazing to get a chance to photograph the super bloom. Great seats at the basketball game indeed made it a great weekend.