Poppies...poppies

Leaving Berkeley, CA this morning, I got caught up in a little rush hour traffic. But, I soon broke free and headed south on I-5 and drove for FIVE HOURS. Well, I DID make a pit stop at a rest area and had my picnic lunch there, too. While I was eating in my car, I noticed some large birds searching for food. They looked like grackles, but I wasn't sure what variety. Then, a pair exhibited some unusual behavior, raising their heads up toward each other. When I did some Googling later, not only did I find out they were Great Tailed Grackles...my first sighting of them...they were doing mating displays.

It was early afternoon when I reaching my only sightseeing destination of the day, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Now, I had tried visiting this place on a previous road trip, but it was so arid, there were no poppies to look at. This year was much different, due to the abundant rains falling recently in southern California. Actually, I probably missed the peak blooms, but there were still a lot of poppies carpeting the hills of the reserve.

There were a lot of people who like me, were there to see the poppies. And, some people just couldn't help themselves from trampling on the poppies. There are even news stories about the damage, which is sad. The park hands out flyers to visitors imploring them to stay on the paths, to no avail. I saw the ignorance and thoughtlessness with my own eyes.

I got tired of watching the stupidity and quickly left after getting some photos. I had been hoping to see a rattlesnake...they said they were out there...but, I just saw a lizard. I'm pretty sure this is a Northwestern Fence Lizard.

Tomorrow, I finally make it to the Big City...Los Angeles! And, I'll be attending the Conan Show! Conan O'Brien is SO funny and I always have a good time going to his live taping. You might see me in the audience. Tune in and look for me!