Road Trip

With all the Winter and Spring rain we have had this year, the Arizona Desert wildflowers are in full bloom. While Mom was down from Flagstaff for a couple of days we decided a look at the wildflowers was a good excuse for a road trip.
Lupin was in bloom...

along with Desert Marigold...

this one was occupied...

Mom said this purple one is called "Owl's Eye Clover"...and Mom knows her wildflowers.

The orange flowers are Globemallow.

While really not a wildflower...the hot pink color of the flowers on this Cactus were spectacular.

It was a dark and stormy day...

Arizona has been in a drought for so many years we had forgotten what rain was...we have been making up for it in 2010.
The Valley of the Sun gets about 2 1/2 inches of rain in a "dry" year and about 5 inches of rain in a "rainy" year. Since January 1st (66 days) we have received about 4 1/2 inches. So while this may not be a big deal to somebody in Seattle...it's a really big deal here...good for the garden, the farmers, ranchers and the desert...the desert should be full of wildflowers this Spring.
And, it was a great opportunity for me to play with the options on my camera!