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2023 Trip Chronicles: Contents
Pacheco State Park 4/6
Pacheco State Park 4/10
Thursday, April 6, 2023, after parking at the single state park lot and putting the state park visitor envelope with $10 in the green slot, I headed south on the Pig Pond Trail, where, beyond Pig Pond, wildflowers were indeed nearing peak spring conditions.
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Above are two small blue oaks, Quercus douglasii, appearing as a single tree, atop a slope with dense splashes of popcorn flower, Plagiobothrys nothofulvus, bicolor lupine, Lupinus bicolor, California violets aka johnny-jump-ups, Viola pedunculata, blue dicks, Dichelostemma capitatum, tomcat clover, Trifolium willdenovii, fiddleneck, Mt Diablo shooting star, and filaree.
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Another similar landscape with blue oak at the hilltop, and dense swaths of popcorn flower, bicolor lupine, California poppy, California violet, blue dicks, and filaree. The Pacheco Pass ridgelines within the Coast Range have strong winds that affect where trees are able to establish without being blown down. Also a reason those ridges support a windmill energy farm.
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Seasick yet? An interesting geometry frame with blue oak, coast live oak, California buckeye, popcorn flower, bicolor lupine, California poppy, California violet, blue dicks, tomcat clover, and filaree.
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On the ridge just south of Pig Pond were some less common species: blue oak, birds-eye gilia, Gilia tricolor , butter-and-eggs, Triphysaria eriantha, goldfields, California violet, blue dicks, tomcat clover, poison sanicle, Sanicula bipinnata, and filaree.
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Above is a late afternoon image of coast live oak, California poppy, California violet, blue dicks, popcorn flower, tomcat clover, bicolor lupine, fiddleneck, and filaree. The small mounds of earth, framed lower mid-left, are from gophers that will be eating well.
On Monday, April 10, 2023, at page top is a fine location for a spring mid-hike picnic date. The top of Spikes Peak is at the frame's left edge. In this view are blue oak, coast live oak, California buckeye, California poppy, California violet, poison sanicle, tomcat clover, blue dicks, popcorn flower, bicolor lupine, and filaree. None of the images on these two Pacheco Pass pages show any miner's lettuce because they grow in shade beneath oaks. Soft, juicy miner's lettuce leaves and stems are full of vitamin C with a delicious taste. So yeah, on your outing, bring along a small salad bowl and some blue cheese dressing.
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This is a semi-backlit shot with pointy Cathedral Peak in the background. Blue oak, coast live oak, California poppy, California violet, blue dicks, popcorn flower, tomcat clover, bicolor lupine, poison sanicle, filaree. I would like to someday see those background areas as part of the park.
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Above shows the dirt road winding up to Spikes Peak, which is the highest point in the state park. The popular Spikes Peak Trail, with sweeping east and west views, starts at the parking lot, then splits as a dirt road beyond the first fence and continues atop the ridgeline before descending here. Within the image are blue oak, coast live oak, California buckeye, goldfields, California violet, blue dicks, Mt Diablo shooting star, popcorn flower, bicolor lupine, and filaree.
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2023 Trip Chronicles: Contents
