Postcards from the Trail

Salvia - or sage's botanical name. G has a small home business, Smartyplants, growing salvias to sell in local plant sales. Many of our travels have involved either visiting nurseries to see what salvias they sell or trying to find salvias in the wild. I remember searching out Mara Nursery in New Zealand and spending a lovely afternoon having lunch with the owners.

Salvias grow through out the world. We found several species in the wild on our trip in Africa. They also grow in the US. We came across Salvia funerea totally unexpectedly while hiking in a canyon in Death Valley in 2005.

Here are a few pictures of some salvia we found in the wild in South Africa:

Salvia africana-caerulea

Close-up of Salvia africana-caerulea

Salvia dentate near Nababeep

Salvia africana lutea in the wild outside Darling

Southern California is another prime region for wild salvias and we hope to find some on our trip this week. Saliva apiana and Saliva mellifera grow in the chaparral of the South Coast. In Anza-Borrego, you can find Salvia vaseyi. I found a great site by Tom Chester which has a lot of details on the plants of Southern California. I really like his plant lists for trails of the area.

We are going to stop at the Santa Rosa plateau on the way from Ontario to Anza-Borrego. Tom has a listing of plants on the Vernal Pools and several salvias are to found. We are planning on stopping since it is on the way and we will have time.

We were itchin' for some sun after our more-than-dreary winter this year. But luck wasn't with us this year. It was sunny in Anza Borrego but it was cold and windy. As expected, the wildflower show was small to non-existent. The fall and winter rains just didn't materialize in California.

We arrived on-time in Ontario and I started a long string of mishaps by leaving my travel folder and hiking book on the plane. Darn if I didn't realize it just as I passed out of security. Fortunately, I kept my boarding pass so I was to go back to the gate and they went on board and found it. It was actually quite fast and I got to baggage before our luggage had been unloaded.

We got our car, a mid-sized Dodge Stratus from Thrifty. Again, I left the folder! This was a sign of things to come. It did take us a while to get baggage and our car so we didn't get on the freeway until almost 10:45 after arriving at 9:40. I was so glad to have the mid-size. I swear everyone seemed to be driving large SUVs. I've never seen so many Hummers on the road. Soon we were flying down I-15 at 75-80 mph and still being passed.

We pulled off at Lake Elsinore at 11:30 and lunched at the In and Out Burger. We made it to the trail head at Santa Rosa Plateau by 12:30. We had realized that we were actually a little early for the wildflowers. Everything still looked asleep But we found our quarries - Salvia apiana (white sage) and Salvia mellifera (black sage).

On to the desert after a stop for groceries at Ralph's in Temecula. We came across patches of snow near Warner Springs. The forecast was for rain but we had hopes that it wouldn't happen.

We made it to Borrego Springs by 5:00 and checked into our Casita. It was very clean and nicely furnished in a mix of tropical and southwestern decor. It was going to be perfect for the weekend. We relaxed and had a nice dinner of ravioli before heading to bed.

The next day, we made a stop in Borrego Springs to check out what was available in town. Not much. There was a grocery store
and a handful of restaurants. We checked out Jilbertos Tacos and made a plan to return for dinner. We went on to the visitor's center at the State Park to get information on where there might be flowers in bloom. The ranger suggested a short walk up Surprise Canyon just behind the restrooms at the Hellhole Canyon trailhead. We also had plans to visit Culp Valley and the parking lot was on our way up.

We headed up Montezuma's Grade to Culp Valley. It was cold and very windy. The distant mountains between the desert and the coast were covered with snow. But we found another salvia. We thought it might be Salvia vaseryi since our trail plant guide said it was supposed to be one there but we think it was really just an apiana or a cross between the two. The plant we found had tall seed spikes which are found on apiana instead of the whorled ones found on vaseryi.

The views were stunning but I couldn't take the wind any longer so we headed back. We found the parking lot this time and went for a short walk up Surprise Canyon. We found several interesting items in bloom, Ocotillo, chuparosa, phacila and best of all several barrel cactus in bloom. But more importantly, we did finally find Salvia vaseryi.

We had a few more hours of daylight so we decided to try to find another location suggested by the ranger, Plum Canyon. By time we got over Yaqui Pass, the weather turned cloudy, cold and windy again. We pulled off the road and checked out some agaves in bloom before heading back. At the top of Yaqui Pass, we decided to take the short xxx loop and watched the shadows lengthen before the sun set.

We headed back to town for dinner at Jarmillos. It was definitely cheap but so-so. I liked my Carne Asada Tacos; nice chuncks of seasoned beef with guacamole on warm soft tortillas. G's chile rellenos were so-so. They were anaheim chiles with some strange cheese filling and a very thick batter. The sauce wasn't great either. Oh well maybe we should have went to Pablitos instead?

Back at the casita, G discovered that we had HBO and we caught part of the Sopranos. It was the season opener. Whoa! what a shocker. We made a note to catch the full show the next night.

Our last day dawned sunny but windy again. We headed south towards Mexico after filling up. Filling the half empty tank cost more than it did to fill my little hybrid! The drive took us down over the pass used by the original stagecoach line to Southern California. What an arduous trip that must have been. The passengers often had to get off the coach and walk up the pass. The views were stunning between the desert and the snowy mountains.

Our destination was Mountain palm canyon. Near the campground was a short two mile loop trail took you to several palm oasises where the birds congregated attracted to the water and food. Between the two canyons, the trail climbed up and over a ridge where we found cactus, octillo and other plants in bloom. We watched the clouds cast shadows on the desert and they moved across. I always wonder what the first pioneers thought of the expansiveness of the desert.

The next morning, we went to the Red Octillo restaurant located in the quanset hut just outside of town. It was excellent! Too bad they don't do dinner.

Sadly, it was time to drive back. We had one more stop before our flight, Rancho Santa Ana Gardens in Claremont. LA was overcast and drizzly but we had a great tour of the garden. Spring was in full bloom with the blues of the ceanothus and bright orange of Fremontodendron. It was a very relaxing 3 nights in Borrego Springs. It was a very relaxing 3 nights in Borrego Springs and a nice end to the weekend.

Well, it is time to make our annual run down to California Mother's Day. As usual, we will drop by the Cabrillo Plant Sale. G is reviewing the list to see what he wants to purchase. I've been researching what we might want to do on the way over on Friday. G's sister told us about Del Puerto Canyon. The road goes from Patterson to San Jose and looks like a perfect place to check out wildflowers. It is also a great birding location. Here is another great link.

We will do our usual and take down our trusty hard sided Samsonite luggage to pack all our plants. G has to be back to work Mother's Day but we will get a chance to visit one or two days before.

Well, it has been another successful trip to Cali both for visiting our family and purchasing stock plants. It was a quick flight and drive into the valley. It was hot especially for May. It was over 90 degrees and we loved it. We spent a two lazy days visiting including a great get together on Thursday night. We had 4 generations for pizza. Everyone from grandma down to the great-grandchildren. Lots of fun.

Friday, we spent a long but enjoyable day. I didn't really calculate the timing but it all worked out. We left around 9am and drove the backroads over the Altamont to San Jose. What a beautiful drive. We meandered along the Del Puerto Canyon road for about 3 hours spotting some nice wildflowers. G was pretty estatic to find a new milkweed. We were at the junction around noon and realized we needed to get going to make it by 3pm to Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, the best flowers were on this section of the drive. Lots of lupine and Chinese houses. But we couldn't stop.

We made it to San Jose by 1:30 which actually was what was estimated - 4 hours from Stockton to SJ. Fortunately, the traffic wasn't bad on Hwy 17 and we pulled into the parking lot at Cabrillo at 2:30pm. We didn't get a chance to stop for lunch. Thankfully, we had some snacks along but we were starved.

We paid our membership and got in line. It wasn't long until 3pm and the gates opened. We grabbed a red wagon and went in search of salvias on our list. We were with a lot of other 'salvia collectors'.

We spent about an hours looking over the selection, talking to the growers and running into other salvia enthusiasts. We saw Betsy and Genny who are always good to see.

We spent a bit going through the garden and seeing what had survived and was in bloom. It is always interesting to see that even in Santa Cruz, some salivas will not survive the winter.

Around 5pm, we left. Unfortunately, the traffic was a bear. It took us forever to get to Gilroy and we didn't make it back to the valley until 8:30. We called Mom once we were in the valley so they could go ahead and eat.

Long long day but fruitful. We spent Saturday packing and everything made it back.

I just returned from a wonderful holiday in Central Washington. Yes, Central Washington! Central Washington is the northern edge of the Great Basin Desert but one would barely know it is a desert due to the Columbia Basin Project. The project run by the Bureau of Reclamation provides sustainable renewable energy and water which has transformed the sagebrush land into fertile farms. Hay, corn, and potato is grown along with wine. Wine was what led us to the Cave B Inn.

G was talking with a customer a couple of weeks ago and they got to talking about Walla Walla and wine. We had enjoyed our getaway in Walla Walla last year. They said "Have you been to Cave B near Quincy?" G did not know of it but thought I would heard of it. Well, I had not.

We checked out the website and it looked very nice. Fortunately, it is off season and the prices were reasonable. We quickly booked two nights and decided to do it on Thursday - Friday to take advantage of the lower mid-week rate. I noticed that the prices are over double come summer. The Inn is located next to the Gorge Amphitheater and the winery was originally Champs de Brionne. The Inn has been open for two years or so.

Driving through the vineyards, the main inn building raises above the horizon. It is stunning; curved dark gray roof and stone sides that make the building look like it was carved out the nearby basalt cliffs. The staff if very professional and the inn is run by the same company that manages the Willow Lodge in Woodinville and Freestone Inn in Mazama. We checked in and walked a short distance through the Sangiovese vineyard to our Cliffhouse. There are 16 Cliffhouses; each one is a separate bungalow with a full view of the river canyon below.

The interior is decorated in warm Mediterranean colors and wood floor. The room is separated by a fireplace and entertainment area. One side has a comfortable seating area with leather couch and chairs. The other side is a large comfy king size bed. The fireplace is open on both sides and the TV will swivel so you can enjoy both either in the sitting area or from the bed. It reminded me a lot of the cottage at Bushman's Kloof in South Africa.

The bathroom has a stone floor, large soaking tub and separate glass shower. Fluffy towels and bathrobes are provided.

The west wall is filled with windows overlooking the Columbia River. You can walk out to a nice terrace where you can enjoy a glass of wine while watching the sun set to the west.

Located in the main Inn building is a gourmet restaurant, Tendrils. The Chef is a Slow Food Award award winner and has written a James Beard award winning cookbook The menu focuses on local products and producers.

For breakfast, we had the buffet which had a potato, apple and cheese frittata, fresh baked pastries, fruit, granola, yogurt and fresh coffee and juice. We also had dinner one night. The menu had a nice selection of locally produced organic meats such as Thundering Hooves Ranch and fresh fish. I started with a beet salad which had a nice wedge of Humboldt Fog goat cheese and blood oranges. G had the fresh green salad. I selected the NW lamb chops from Cattail Farms which was served with a corn cake and sauteed greens. G had the fresh wild salmon with wild rice and fiddleheads. For dessert, we had coffee and an apple compote with wild huckleberry frozen souffle.

We thoroughly enjoyed our getaway. It is only about 150 miles from Seattle but it feels a world away.

Is Quincy the new Bend?

We take a trip each spring to view wildflowers and gardens. Our favorite place is Tucson. We love to spend a few days in the desert searching for wildflowers and hiking. In 2005, we spent time camping in Death Valley and also made a quick trip to Tucson. In 2006, we visited Anza Borrego .

We have been watching the rainfall this fall and winter. The drought has continued across the Southwest and Mojave. But Southern California has had a lot of rain. We decided to extend our Riviera experience and visit the 'California Riviera' - Santa Barbara.

It looks to be a good wildflower year - if it doesn't get hot in March. April will be the best time for us and hopefully we will catch some flowers.

Besides wildflowers, the main place we want to visit is Lotusland. We met a couple from SoCa on the trail in Tucson that raved about it. KHB just blogged about it .

I gave them a call today and made reservations for a tour. Now that we have the reservations I can start to make the rest of plans. I looked and found this lovely cottage in Santa Barbara - Sycamore Cottage. I talked to the owner this evening and they have an opening. It sounds like the perfect getaway for a long weekend.

We are planning on flying into Burbank and stopping at the Getty Museum on the way and maybe driving up through Antelope Valley. We also want to do a hike in the mountains around SB. Figueroa Mountain looks to be a good place to hunt for flowers.