In The Golden Afternoon
California has had a pretty crazy year what with the fires, flooding, and extra rainy winter. But the result of all that is something truly spectacular - a beautiful wildflower super bloom. Right now throughout Southern California there’s a floral explosion happening! Hills, deserts, and canyons are covered in beautiful poppies. It really is magical!
older Free People dress | boots | blanket
Eddie and I drove to Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore to experience the poppy fields for ourselves, and I was amazed by a few things. First, at how crowded it was. The last super bloom took place in 2017 and when we visited Walker Canyon back then, hardly anyone else was there. That wasn’t the case this year. What felt like thousands of people were there with us, and parking was packed. Something else I was amazed at was how many people were venturing off the trail and walking into the fields, crushing the poppies and even lying down on top of the flowers for a photo. It made me sad to see! I’m sure many people didn’t fully understand the damage they were doing, or the fact that going off trail and trampling the flowers causes a lot of harm to the soil - it can even prevent the flowers from blooming again in the future.
The further Eddie and I hiked into the canyon, the less crowded and more peaceful it was. We were able to really enjoy this gorge phenomenon and take a few photos - always staying on the trail and never picking or touching the flowers, so as to leave no trace.
This prickly bb seemed so happy among the field of orange!
Just one of the many trampled sections of the field we came across. I thought it important to document, since you mostly see only beautiful photos being shared of the fields. I hope by sharing it will inspire future visitors to be respectful of the land so everyone can enjoy the blooms!
Just love the colors of the hills - isn’t green + orange the best combo?!
Eddie and I took advantage of the windy trails to get a different perspective of the blooms. We actually got a few shots that I really love but you can’t see the trail at all in them, even though I always kept on it. I ultimately decided not to share those photos as I don’t want to give the illusion of going off trail, which may inspire others to do the same for their pictures. I think the trail looks lovely in photos anyway!
I’d love to hear what you think about the poppy craze! Have you visited for yourself? Tell me all your thoughts in the comments. Just one more day till spring!
