A Much needed 2022 Western US adventure - Part 1

 A Much needed 2022 Western US adventure - Part 1

This is the first in a series of posts made during our 2022 US vacation.

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1. The Plan

After two years of, well let's just call it a dumpster fire, we leave all the drama behind as we head out where the sky is big and the sunsets are awe inspiring. We are headed towards Arizona and New Mexico to start and then possibly up into Utah and beyond. 

The plan? Well, we actually don't have any plans or reservations, other than to be on the road for the next two months. Although we've spent quite a bit of time East of the Sierra Mountains, there are still many places  that will be new to us. 

2. Chasing Flowers - Los Padres National Forest

We spent several days at Los Padres National Forest and it didn't disappoint. We hiked to the top of a mountaintop and looked down on a lush green meadows; there were hundreds of old oak trees evenly spaced apart as if it was planned. In areas where there weren't as many oak trees, there were huge patches of brightly colored flowers, mostly deep purple, bright yellow and orange, and some red and white. These are the beautifully spring flowers that we search out each year when we come to Los Padres National Forest.

Even before we found a place to camp we could see that the Lupine were showing off on the side of the road despite the dry weather this year. On a short hike, we could smell the Lupine that reminds me of Sweet Tart candies. It must be intoxicating to the bees, they were all over these beautiful flowers. Standing on the edge of an area the size of a baseball field full of flowers is amazing. It's absolutely impossible to capture this sensory overload in a two-dimensional photo. On the same day we also came across a large patch of bright orange/yellow California Golden Poppies. It's always good to see that our state flowers are doing well.

Wildfires swept through this area two years ago and many of these mountains and valleys were burnt giving us access to some bushy areas for the first time. Sadly, some of the very old and very large old growth oak trees (they must be several hundred years old) in the valleys didn't make it. It must have been quite a sight to see the fires burning and the glowing embers floating around. It's not unusual to see a tree that is completely burn and then several other trees in the same area untouched. Despite the fires, Mother Nature is making a come back and even smaller trees and brush that had burned to the ground have green re-growth that is already several feet high.

The red headed woodpeckers are mostly back, although they aren't as vocal and rambunctious as they were. The dead trees that they use to store acorns did burn so it's likely they moved on to other areas or there are just less of them now.

We'll spend a few days in Santa Maria with family before heading over Tehachapi and towards the Mojave Desert.