It is apparantly pretty uncommon to see flowers in Death Valley at all - even in the spring time. Most years spring will come and go with no sign ... because of the lack of rain things just don't bloom. Seeds will drop onto the desert floor and then lie dormant for years waiting for a rain. Last week I was reading an online news article about Death Valley and that it is currently experiencing a "Super Bloom" year, meaning that because of rains that were timed just right last fall, the valley has exploded in bloom. This apparently only happens every 12-20 years; the last bloom was in 2005. I knew that I MUST see it because it may not happen again for a long time. Time, however, was running short. Because of the heat and dryness, the flowers have a very short bloom time; some are completely done within 24 hours, some may bloom for a week. The valley had already been in bloom for a week or so.
So after my race on Saturday morning (Red Mountain Trail 1/2 Marathon), we very quickly packed the kids and some snacks in the truck and drove the four hours to Death Valley National Park, skirting North Las Vegas and passing through the trailer town of Beatty, NV.
We also passed through Tonopah and stopped at a gas station with a brothel in the back of it. There were quite a few shady characters hanging around the parking lot and we got what we needed and got out.
Four hours into the trip and entering the northeast side of the park
The hillsides are already looking yellow from a distance due to Yellow Evening Primrose (Camissonia brevipes) blooming en masse.
This one was a little hard to ID. I knew it had to be a Borage (Boraginaceae) because of the minute flowers. It looks to be Menzies Fiddleneck OR Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii var intermedia).
Many of the typical teeny white flowers from the Boraginaceae family were scattered around. Not too showy but awfully cute up close.
Broad-flowered Gilia (Gilia latiflora)
This is the Yellow Evening Primrose up close. They grew thick along the disturbed roadsides at the high end of the park. The yellow changed to Desert Gold flowers as we got lower into the park.
Desert Chicory (Rafinesqia neomexicana). Desert Chicory can be confused with "White Tackstem" (Calycoseriis wrightii) which looks almost identical in bloom. The stem of the Tackstem, however, is covered with "tacks" that give it it's common name while the Chicory is smooth. The Tackstem has many more white petals and less red streaking underneath the flower, the Chicory has fewer petals and more red streaking underneath.
More Camissonia
Ivy found a Paintbrush (Castilleja augustifolia) hiding in another bush as they typically like to do to siphon water and shade.
Joc found more Camissonia
Bigelow Monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovii)
Dad helping Millie back into her shoe
As we were driving down the highway we passed an old mining tunnel so we stopped to investigate. There were big warning signs at the entrance about lack of oxygen and falling timbers and unstable conditions. Jocelyn is getting better at reading and was able to decipher enough danger in the sign that she absolutely refused to set foot past the dark entrance. Millie was excited about the "nunnel" and squealed at being able to go in.
We finally convinced Jocelyn to come in a little ways but then I saw tiny clouds of dust as she ran back toward the entrance. No matter, the tunnel didn't go more than 100 yards back into the hillside.
A lot more cream colored than the typical yellow ones. Still searching what this one is.
Not sure what they were feeling here but it WAS a cool viewpoint!
This is where we started dropping down into the low valley.
Lower.
The yellow flowers changed from Primrose to Desert Gold (Gerea canescens)
Fields and fields of Desert Gold past its "prime" but still plentiful.
We stopped at the low point, 200 feet or so below sea level near the alkali flats called the Devils Golf Course.
She was not in a really good mood by this point.
Silly Millie.
Pretty in a parched sort of way
Close to sundown with an approaching storm.
We stopped in Pahrump on the way back and had some Thai and then they zonked out near Vegas. We got home at around midnight making it a solid 12 hour daytrip. Good time!
