DesertUSA publishes news, articles and educational content about the desert regions of the United States. Our news feed includes press releases from the National Park Service, State Parks and other recreation areas.
Wildflower Reports 2023
Where are the desert wildflowers blooming?
DesertUSA is predicting that we will have an excellent wildflower season this year. Will it be a superbloom? Time will tell. Some of the best wildflower viewing areas have received a good amount of rain over the past few months. We still have to see how the weather plays out in February. If the early bloom in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in December indicates what is to come, this year’s displays could be phenomenal.
To read the most current wildflower reports and to view photos, visit DesertUSA’s Wildflower Reports. Reader’s send in reports with location information and photos throughout the wildflower season.
Desert Life Features
The Mojave Road
School Bus
Mojave Road Attraction Mile 37
This bullet-riddled heap of rusted metal was abandoned sometime around 1984 along the old Mojave Road, within what was later to become the Mojave National Preserve. The old school bus became a quirky roadside attraction, developing its own cult-like following of countless travelers of the Mojave Road, which extends 133 miles east from the Colorado River to Camp Cady.
Villager Peak Walk – Part 1
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
From Borrego Springs, the California village that is headquarters for the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, you can get a long view of Villager Peak by looking at the mountains to the east. It’s just a bump on the long ridge that runs north from the S-22 road just past Clark Dry Lake. If your eyesight is good, you will see a lot of greenery resembling (except for the color) the stubble on the face of a man who hasn’t shaved in a few days. Villager Peak sits in a juniper-pinyon woodland, and the green objects are trees: pinyon pines, junipers and nolinas.
Velvet Turtleback
Psathyrotes ramosissima
Photo by Paulette Donnellon
Turtleback is a low, neatly mounded plant producing spreading stems which are hairless to densely woolly in texture. The knobby inflorescence is lined with woolly gray-green phyllaries with dull points that curve outward. It contains several hairy yellow disc florets.
Celebration of Dark Skies in Death Valley
Death Valley Dark Sky Festival is Feb. 10-12, 2023 Mark your calendars! The annual Death Valley Dark Sky Festival will take place February 10-12, 2023. Explore the wonders of space from one…
Katherine Landing Fuel Dock on Lake Mohave Temporarily Closes for Modernization Project
The current fuel dock at Katherine Landing will be modernized with a new fuel dock in the coming months. NPS As part of a modernization project for the fuel dock at Katherine…
Elderly couple found dead in Death Valley National Park
An elderly husband and wife from Las Vegas, Nevada were found dead in Death Valley National Park on January 13, 2023, according to law enforcement officials. Paul Fischer, 73, called the…
An adventure through time. Explore the route used by pioneers on their way to California. The Mojave Road lets your SUV act as a time machine, guiding you on a trail that stretches for 138 miles through country virtually unchanged since prehistoric times. Learn more about the Mojave Road Guide by Dennis Casebier.
100% Natural Ingredients – DesertUSA Prickly Pear Syrup is made with all natural ingredients using real prickly pear cactus fruit puree. Never any preservatives, and no artificial colors or flavors. Shop for Prickly Pear Syrup
If you’re looking for a fun thing to do with your kids, check out our “Break-at-Home” geode kits. This hands on rockhounding experience is a great way for kids to learn about geology, how geodes are formed and to experience the excitement of discovery when they break one open. Learn more about “Break-at-Home” geodes