As I said, I took a lot of photos at Walker Canyon, so will divide them into two parts.

I forgot to mention that the sky was insanely blue that day. We have such beautiful skies in the winter. I love the contrast between the green and orange here.

Someone said the orange looked like Nacho Cheese Doritos or Cheetos dust and I have to agree. 🙂

You may have seen on the news that they had to close the canyon one day because enormous crowds were showing up and they couldn’t handle them. The parking situation is pretty bleak–just a one lane road with cars parked on both sides. I got there in the morning, but was still concerned I wouldn’t get a spot. Luckily some people left right as I was driving by.
When I left, the backup on the Interstate was five miles long. Now it’s much worse.

It was strange to see a dried up riverbed when we’ve had so much rain.

A closer look at the California poppies.

Gradually more people showed up and were taking lots of selfies. I was glad to see that they were being careful to not trample the wildflowers. I was happy to stay on the path, because rattlesnake season has started and someone got bitten last week.

Then across the freeway, the Elsinore Mountains. Not quite as colorful, but lovely still.

An artist was carrying an easel and paints when I was leaving. Wish I could see his finished painting.

More next week….

Great weekend, everyone!

{carole}