It’s official – spring is here and the weather is finally playing along with some warm days that actually feel like the hi desert. It’s been a strange year of weather all up and down the state – but here in the Morongo Basin the late snow and heavy precipitation have some whispering excitingly about a superbloom here in the desert. There’s no official definition of this still nascent term for an extra-colorful California wildflower season – however, just the possibility of an even more colorful spring spread of native flowers has the Morongo Basin, and the National Park, preparing for a potentially even busier spring than usual.
Gary Daigneault spoke with Joshua Tree National Park Ranger Sasha Travaglio about Springtime in the park. Sasha is the Park Interpretation and Volunteers in Park Program Ranger, and has spent quite a few springs in the national park – and she says that if you are hoping that this year produces the coveted superbloom, you may want to temper your expectations.
Travaglio:
“We had kind of a weird winter. We did have a good amount of precipitation in the summer and the winter but our winter precipitation was actually below average. They you know have to have those right conditions, we did have that weird snow and I think that kind of threw the flowers for a loop. But that’s not to say that we don’t have beautiful flowers in the park… we do have a beautiful springtime in the park every year regardless of what the flowers are doing. Things are greener so it is really beautiful.”
The park will bloom – super or not – and spring is typically the busiest time of year in Joshua Tree and the National Park. And that means more traffic as people line up to get into the park – typically at the west entrance on Park Blvd in Joshua Tree.
Ranger Travaglio says that the park is preparing for the uptick in visitors, and has some suggestions for visiting during those busier times –
Travaglio:
“We are suggesting that folks one use the north entrance, it’s location generally has a shorter line so it’s quicker to get into the park. If you’re going hiking in the park make sure that you’re getting an early start so that you can avoid those lines and also have a backup plan… so if you have you know you’re going to go in with your family and you’re going to take a hike everyone kind of has that goal of what they want to do in the park. But make sure you have a backup plan because sometimes with your first choice… you’re not going to find parking.
Parking is the big issue in the park… you know we don’t really have the capacity to manage as many cars as we get so often times the best place to hike in the park is where you find a legitimate parking space.”
If you are visiting the park on the a weekend – lines and people are going to be hard to avoid if you are looking to hit some of the more popular spots in the park…
Ranger Sasha Travaglio spoke with Gary about more than just springtime in their hour long conversation – you can stay tuned to Z107.7 throughout the week as we get more tips about wildlife viewing and volunteering in the National Park – or you can listen to their entire conversation as a podcast right now:
