Called a Death Valley audible

As we watched the weather report for Death Valley, it was projected to be in the high 90s. Since we did not have a campsite reserved, we decided Friday morning to postpone our trip because of concern with the girls and heat exposure. They are still too young to realize that they need to drink water when they are hot. It also would have been extremely difficult to keep them in the shade when we were out there. So we’ll have to find another time to go to Death Valley.

Our reason to go to Death Valley was to see the wildflowers blooming. With that goal still in mind, we sought out some day trips to achieve our goal. Our first trip was to Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore on Saturday. It is a hour drive from our house to Walker Canyon, right off Interstate 15. And I mean literally right off the highway. As we got off the exit, cars were parked along a small road for at least a quarter mile. The main trail was crowded with groups of people looking to see the California Poppies and the other wildflowers. It was incredibly beautiful to see all of these flowers as a result of the rainy winter we’ve had.

We tossed (“gently placed”) the girls in the Kelty Kid Carriers and they got their typical VIP treatment. While many people only ventured about 0.5 mile up the trail, we wandered for about 45 minutes to get to the top of a hill for spectacular views. We saw some snow capped mountains (Mt. San Jacinto [10,833] and Mt. San Gorgonio [11,503] I believe) and endless hills of wildflowers.

All in all, an incredible experience brought to us by Mother Nature. Monday’s plan is to head out to Anza Borrego Desert State Park for some more flowers and hiking.