[link to pic.templetons.com]

Death Valley Spring Flowers 2005

Death Valley was one of the few great California National Parks I had not visited. In particular, I hoped to see the spring bloom. In 2005, the rains were tremendous and generated the largest wildflower bloom in living memory. In some cases seeds dormant for 30 years waiting for the right amount of rain sprung out to cover the floor of the valley. Normally this is one of the world's driest deserts.

Of course, Death Valley has lots of other scenery, but the flowers mostly added to it. By far the most populous flower was the yellow Desert Gold, but fields of white and purple could also be seen. In addition, a large lake formed in the basin at Badwater, the lowest point in North America. This lake is not normally there, so many came out to do strange things in it.