WILDFLOWER BLOOM A LITTLE LATE AND FARTHER SOUTH

This year’s wildflower bloom is a little late and pretty far south. Reporter David Haldane made the drive for his first whiff of spring…
It took a lot longer than we expected. All the way down Pinto Basin Road, nearly two hours, to the Cottonwood Visitor Center in Joshua Tree National Park. Just a little further, they told us. And then there it was, a plush field of yellow flowers with tiny patches of purple, springtime’s offering to human eyes hungry for color.
This year’s wildflower bloom has been a little late in coming, despite winter’s long-awaited downpours. Part of the problem, park rangers say, is that until recently the temperatures stayed close to freezing at night.
But now, it seems, all is forgiven and the life buds are popping. Which means that the gentle hiss of the wind carries with it the faint fragrance of flowers.
“I think it’s amazing. It’s so far above what I imagined. It’s vast, it’s beautiful, it’s awe-inspiring.”
That’s Ron Featheringill, a friend who came up the hill from Ontario for his first Joshua Tree bloom.
“I want to come back as soon as I can.”