Barrel Cactus, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

This over-achieving Barrel Cactus was ringed with over 30 blooms and buds!  It will be one of many stops on today’s photo workshop / tour.

Wildflowers, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

After yesterday’s gloomy post, I thought I would post something a little brighter!  In 2005 I arrived here near the end of February and missed the peak wildflowers.  This year, they are just now getting good.  The yellow flowers (Brittlebush) you see here are just now starting to come into bloom in a few places.  On the other hand, it has been a great year for Chuparosa (aka hummingbird-bush) – the red plant you see here.   Together, the two make a great combination!

2008 along Henderson Canyon Road, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Today along Henderson Canyon Road, Anza Borrego State Park, California.

Sadly, I believe the thick fields of wildflowers that made this area famous are a thing of the past, as this area has been taken over by the invasive species Sahara Mustard.  Two weeks ago, these fields looked so promising, they were  lush and green with new plant life thanks to a rainy winter – historically a perfect combination.  But as I have now learned, the Sahara Mustard grows in sooner and faster then native plants, stealing moisture and blocking sunlight – effectively choking out the beautiful native plants.  You can see in the bottom photo that a couple of Desert Golds managed to fight their way through the thick vegetation, but it is nothing like past years where there would be millions of such blooms.

This isn’t just a problem along Henderson Canyon Road, or Anza-Borrego – the Sahara Mustard has taken over large parts on the lower elevations of Southern California and continues to expand very rapidly.  It seems inevitable that this plant will take over other amazing places like Death Valley – it is really sad.  You can learn more about this invasive species here:  Sahara Mustard.

Jacqui Foreman

At the end of our fall trip we briefly stopped in Borrego Springs where we cleaned and winterized our trailer before flying home.  Turns out in the campsite next to us was Ron and Jacqui Foreman.  Ron and Jacqui were also from Alaska (Juneau), and were helping to manage the campground while Jacqui, who was a singer / songwriter performed on evenings and weekends at nearby venues such as the wineries in Temecula.  As Alaskans working hard to pursue a dream with an emphasis on lifestyle over financial security – we had a lot in common.

It was good to see them again when we returned to Borrego Springs this winter and to hear about their pursuits.  But it wasn’t until just a couple of weeks ago that Janine and I actually heard Jacqui perform that we really became huge fans – in short, we were blown away!  She is a wonderful guitar player, with an amazing voice and a great collection of original songs.  We have heard her perform a couple of times now and can’t get enough.  I believe one day she will be very successful.

I offered to do some photography for Jacqui in exchange for permission to play her music during future slide shows – that is if I ever put some together.  🙂  Turns out she needed photos, so yesterday we spent a few hours photographing Jacqui.  I gotta admit this was a little outside my normal photography, but I really had fun.  I captured a very wide variety of images, I’m only posting a small sample here.  Go past the jump for two more photos.

By the way, to learn more about Jacqui, check out her website:  Jacqui Foreman.

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A great group! This is at the entrance to an interesting slot canyon. From Left to right is myself, next to me is Greg, in front of him is Bryant, then Bret, Bob and Ramone.

As you may know, last weekend was the first of two sold out photo workshops I’m leading in Anza-Borrego desert State Park.  I gotta admit, when Saturday morning delivered hard wind and heavy rain, I was in a bit of a panic!  Well fortunately the group was a hardy bunch of passionate photographers who never once complained about the cold, wind or rain, and you know what, we were rewarded with some of the most unique conditions I have seen here.  We had god beams, rainbows, fascinating clouds and wonderful defused light, it could hardly have been better!  Then Sunday we had calm wind and sun, the best of both worlds.

We spent a long time in my favorite trail-less mountain canyons where the blooming barrel cactus might have been the highlight of numerous cool subjects.  We also spent time in some small fields of desert wildflowers, visited a dry lake bed with killer mud pattens, visited a dramatic badlands viewpoint and hiked a slot canyon – I can’t believe we covered that much ground in one afternoon and morning.

Anyway, I couldn’t have asked for 5 nicer guys and if they had as much fun as I did then the workshop was a success – I had a blast and wasn’t even photographing!  Thanks guys!

Greg Lato

I did grab a couple of shots of the guys in the field.  Here is one of Greg Lato.  We didn’t see the full moon I was anticipating, but sure had some dramatic skies!

Fishhook Cactus, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Easy to see why these are called Fishhook Cactus!

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

I captured this a couple of hours ago at sunrise.  It was another beautiful morning – the sounds of coyotes and quail a short distance away only enhanced the experience!