Super Bloom

This week I’m going to take a break from beaches and focus on the real star of the show in Southern California, the Super Bloom. The technical definition of the super bloom according to National geographic is, "is a colloquial term used to define an explosion of wildflowers that exceeds typical spring blooms.” After talking to some people and hearing what the news has to say I would define the super bloom to be a large amount of wildflowers that appear after weeks of rain. 

During my spring break I have seen the super bloom twice now. There are no words to really describe how magical it is. The mountains are just filled with orange poppies that go on for miles and miles. The first time I visited was on a Sunday and it was filled with tourists. They actually closed down the exit to Lake Elisnore, which is the exit were suppose to get off at. They closed down the exit because of the amount of people comparing the gathering to “Disneyland sized crowds.” It took a good thirty minutes to get off the exit and then we were just put back on the freeway. So instead we looped around and parked on the side of the freeway (which is illegal I do not recommend it). We weren’t the only ones with this idea as fifty other cars were also parked there. The first trip was fun but since there were so many tourists it was hard to enjoy it to its fullest extent. It also broke my heart to see people stomping on the poppies and picking them. 

The second trip I took was late afternoon on a Tuesday (which if you ever come and see the Super Bloom go on a weekday). We went to a different spot that required crossing over a river and much more climbing but it was completely worth it. There were barely any tourists. I just sat in a field of flowers, alone, for fifteen minutes. It was something straight out of a movie. It felt fake being surrounded by poppies looking out onto a lake and another mountain range. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. 

This Super Bloom happened last year as well but this year its getting much more coverage. This year it made national news and is causing quite a ruckus to these small towns that don’t have the resources to control this size of a crowd. Despite all the negative press going towards the crowds there are amazing pictures taking from space and airplanes. Below I’ve attached some pictures that I’ve taken. 

Even from the freeway it looks amazing