Anza Borrego Desert Bloom

By Stacey Kuhns

Ed Miner and I decided we were going to drive to the desert to see the amazing blooms everyone was talking about. We left Henson (Service Dog) at his favorite place (day care) at 7 a.m. and took off for Anza Borrego.

 Would we ever do it again? Hell no! The drive is pretty, especially since everything is so green now. We got to Borrego and stopped on the side of the road to check out some flowers. They were pretty but definitely not the massive bloom everyone was talking about. 

When we got to the intersection to turn into the Visitor's Center, we knew this was probably a mistake. They had all their rangers out on the roads trying to control the crowds and answer questions. We were allowed to drive up to the Visitor's Center, since I am disabled, so Ed could drop me off but the rangers were pretty mean and would not let him turn into the parking lot. They said it was full. So, he dropped me off and went to go park (over a quarter of a mile away). I was pissed because when I walked into the parking lot, there was plenty of parking and Handicapped parking spots available. 

I called Ed and told him to turn around but he said there was no way he could as it was a nightmare with all the cars. I sat in the shade at the center and listened to a volunteer talk about where the best blooms were (3 times through the talk before Ed was able to get back to find me). It was very very hot (I do not do sun and heat well at all). 

We decided to go right to one of the areas they recommended seeing so we had to hoof it back to the car. It was a very long way for me and I was having a difficult time. When we got back to the car, the line of traffic on the road leading to the Visitor's Center was insane. Luckily, we were heading in a different direction. We made it to the place they recommended (Henderson Canyon Road). We were pretty underwhelmed. (You have to either stay in the desert or know the exact time to get there to see the best bloom. Otherwise, within a few days, the heat and caterpillars have decimated the flowers). 

It was pretty, don't get me wrong, but no variety of color (other than yellow and white) and it was sparse. If you take a picture looking out over the desert, it looks beautiful, but if you look down, it is pretty sparse. Anyway, we stayed for a bit. Glad I packed water, sandwiches and apples because the few restaurants and food cart places were jammed.