The Brothers Bloom

The old adage that ‘April showers bring May flowers’ still holds true, but in the case of California's record rain between January and March, I’d venture a more apropos statement is ‘biblical rain brings color to the Plain,’ which in this case is the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County. Travel pal Brian and I rode there and back a couple weekends ago to see the superbloom, taking the scenic route away from major highways every chance we could.

The 246,812-acre Carrizo Plain National Monument stretches 50 miles long and up to 15 miles wide, nestled along the San Andreas Fault about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 234 miles southeast of my home base near San Jose. Brian mapped out another stupendous two-day adventure, with the former oil-boom town of Taft as our destination for the night.