The New Dixie Mine Road area is about 11 miles north of the northwest corner of Joshua Tree National Park, just west of CA-247 and the town of Landers, along the east slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains where they meet the Mojave Desert, at an elevation of about 4,000 feet. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be in the desert, 71 degrees, bright sunshine, and a vast expanse to explore. In spite of a report that it was "nothing short of incredible," we were at this location when the best bloom was evidently over, and although there were many things in good bloom including the largest numbers of Krameria and Xylorhiza that I've ever seen, the area has not had sufficient rainfall to produce the kind of desert displays that I've seen elsewhere in past years. This photo gallery is the result of two visits here, one with Tom Chester, Kate Harper and RT Hawke on May 10, and one by myself a few days later when I covered a larger area than I had on the first trip. One of the things that was interesting to me was the fact that many of the things blooming now were also in bloom when I visited this area last October. |
