Due to this year’s abundant rainfall, wildflowers are blooming everywhere in California. After seeing the wildflower pictures from Carrizo Plain National Monument posted online, I decided to take a day trip there in a rented SUV from Hertz.
After filling the gas tank (It was less than 3/4 full), we head to Carrizo Plain at around 8:30 am.
First stop was Bitterwater Road. There were lots of flowers on the hills but we could only see them from a distance.
Next Shell Creek Road. Lots of flowers on the side of the road.
After Shell Creek Rd, I debated if I should fill the gas tank before making the rest of the stops. It looked like the town of Shandon was not too far away so we headed there for gas. But there was no gas station there. The nearest gas station was in Paso Robles about 20 miles away. But I was glad we drove the extra miles. It felt a lot safer with a full tank of gas.
7 Miles Road was next.
Then Soda Lake Road.
I wanted to also visit Elkhorn Road and Elkhorn Grade Road. But Elkhorn Road was a dirt road. It was not too bad in an SUV but I didn’t see a lot of wildflowers there. I also forgot to download offline map before the trip and there was no reception there, which made navigating a little difficult.
It was getting late so we decided to call it a day. We followed Google Map directions to State Route 58 but it was closed at 7 Miles Rd. We had to take a detour which took a lot longer than I expected. It took almost three hours just to get on 5 Fwy and we barely made it out before dark.
I spent 13 hrs driving 578 miles today (including photo stops). After returning the rental car, we didn’t get home until after 10 pm.