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Wildflower Travelog #1
Lebec, CA · Wed, 11 Mar 2026. 5:30pm.
Hawk passed a major milestone today in recovery from her foot surgery. She got an A+ grade from her doctor. So we loaded up the car this morning after getting home from the clinic and headed out on a trip, our first trip together since Thanksgiving!
Oh, we didn't leave right away. We puttered around the house for an hour or so first, then packed our pages, then loaded the car, then went out for lunch locally. We didn't hit the road until sometime after 12:30pm.
The trip we scoped out is to visit a couple hotspots for this year's wildflower superbloom. We'll visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve and Carrizo Plain National Monument. They're down at the edge between what you could call Central California and Southern California. Especially the poppy preserve.... It's technically in Los Angeles County, though it's (a) 60+ miles straight-line distance to downtown LA from there, and (b) that straight line goes over a 10,000' mountain ridge.
We planned this trip over the past few days. We anticipated getting good news on Hawk's health and figured we'd celebrate. Plus, it's the first trip for me post-retirement. We've got to celebrate that, too! Though to really celebrate retirement I'd like to plan a trip way more special than just road-tripping around California for a few days.
Tonight we're staying at a roadside hotel in Lebec, California, just off I-5. We've stayed here a number of times in the past on similar trips. A few things hit differently on today's trip, though. Here are three:
This picture shows "The Grapevine" as we enter the canyon at the bottom of the Central Valley. I've noted before that although millions of travelers call these mountains "The Grapevine" because of signs like the one you see at the lower right of the picture, Grapevine is actually the name of a tiny town site at the foot of the mountains. The mountains are the Tehachapie Mountains and the pass we're climbing is the Tejon Pass.
One consequence of driving at 70mph is that I-5 felt like less of a race of jockeying for position. Driving I-5 through the San Joaquin Valley: IYKYK. It was less frustrating to queue up behind a slowpoke in the passing lane going 61mph to get around a truck doing 60mph in the slow lane when I only wanted to drive 70mph myself, not 80 or 85.
It's fortuitous I discovered taking-it-easy while driving today. CHP was out in force, not just on I-5 but on 101, too. I haven't seen as many police cruisers on this route even on so-called "maximum enforcement" holiday weekends. I wonder if they're trying to meet a quota.
Lebec, CA · Wed, 11 Mar 2026. 5:30pm.
Hawk passed a major milestone today in recovery from her foot surgery. She got an A+ grade from her doctor. So we loaded up the car this morning after getting home from the clinic and headed out on a trip, our first trip together since Thanksgiving!
Oh, we didn't leave right away. We puttered around the house for an hour or so first, then packed our pages, then loaded the car, then went out for lunch locally. We didn't hit the road until sometime after 12:30pm.
The trip we scoped out is to visit a couple hotspots for this year's wildflower superbloom. We'll visit the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve and Carrizo Plain National Monument. They're down at the edge between what you could call Central California and Southern California. Especially the poppy preserve.... It's technically in Los Angeles County, though it's (a) 60+ miles straight-line distance to downtown LA from there, and (b) that straight line goes over a 10,000' mountain ridge.
We planned this trip over the past few days. We anticipated getting good news on Hawk's health and figured we'd celebrate. Plus, it's the first trip for me post-retirement. We've got to celebrate that, too! Though to really celebrate retirement I'd like to plan a trip way more special than just road-tripping around California for a few days.
Tonight we're staying at a roadside hotel in Lebec, California, just off I-5. We've stayed here a number of times in the past on similar trips. A few things hit differently on today's trip, though. Here are three:
1. Brown Mountains are Green!
A lot of the mountains in California are brown. ...Most of the time. That's because they're covered in grasses that turn brown when for all but 6-8 weeks of the year. Well, guess what: we're in that special time of year! Not only were the mountains bounding the east side of the Bay Area shining emerald green as we crossed them today, but the Grapevine— the imposing east-west ridge that conceptually separates the Central Valley from Southern California— was glowing green, too!This picture shows "The Grapevine" as we enter the canyon at the bottom of the Central Valley. I've noted before that although millions of travelers call these mountains "The Grapevine" because of signs like the one you see at the lower right of the picture, Grapevine is actually the name of a tiny town site at the foot of the mountains. The mountains are the Tehachapie Mountains and the pass we're climbing is the Tejon Pass.
2. Hello, Officers, Check my Speed!
For the long trek down I-5 today I mostly set the cruise control to 70mph— which is the speed limit. It's the slowest I've ever voluntarily driven I-5. The difference was I just didn't feel like I was in a rush to get anywhere today. I figure it's because I'm retired now. I'm not trying to maximize a short trip squeezed in between working through Friday afternoon and having to be home Sunday evening early enough to get to bed in time to start the next work week Monday morning. Today I left home on a Wednesday after lunch, and I'll get back on Friday... or maybe Saturday if we decide to extend it!One consequence of driving at 70mph is that I-5 felt like less of a race of jockeying for position. Driving I-5 through the San Joaquin Valley: IYKYK. It was less frustrating to queue up behind a slowpoke in the passing lane going 61mph to get around a truck doing 60mph in the slow lane when I only wanted to drive 70mph myself, not 80 or 85.
It's fortuitous I discovered taking-it-easy while driving today. CHP was out in force, not just on I-5 but on 101, too. I haven't seen as many police cruisers on this route even on so-called "maximum enforcement" holiday weekends. I wonder if they're trying to meet a quota.
