Tropical Storm Hilary was impressive. Mt. Wilson got over 8" of rain and Palm Springs experienced some quality flooding. I wanted to see if Lake Thompson had returned so my Dad and I headed to Lancaster.
Images from Stop 1 above
Stop one was a bluff in the hills SW of Palmdale to see if we could get a good view of the valley. The air was very clear out but I couldn't really tell if Lake Thompson had refilled from where we were. I've found a lot of cool annuals in these hills and it was interesting to see it in August. The temperature normally would be well above 100F this time of year but it was a balmy 74 today.
I would call this plant community a Juniper/Joshua Tree Woodland that had burned somewhat recently. The Junipers were coming back but small and the scrub vegetation looked well filled in. I found this lone Joshua Tree on the bluff. The tree looks like a few plants growing close together but my guess is these are clonal pups that sprouted from the roots after the parent plant burned. This has been known to happen but generally Joshua Trees do poorly in fire.
Trash is a constant in these hills. I have no clue what to do about it and I tend to just cringe and move on.
Images from E Side of 14 at Lake Thompson
We then headed to the LA County part of Lake Thompson. First we went to the east side of the 14, north of Lancaster. This was my first good look at the valley and it was safe to say Lake Thompson did not return.
Pools of water had formed on the surface of the ancient lake and dotted the surface for miles. The saltbushes appeared to be loving life. Isocoma acardenia was getting ready to bloom. The place was alive. Lake Thompson didn't return but an huge summer rain reinvigorated all the life adapted to todays drier climate.
Images from E Side of 14
We went to the other side of the 14 and it was a similar story. Tiny pools dotting the surface for miles. Runoff from the road made the S curve in the images.
Back home, I'm thinking about how Tropical Storm Hilary had the wettest atmosphere on record for Southern California and it wasn't anywhere near enough to fill Lake Thompson. The amount of water moving in our area during the Pleistocene must have been truly incredible.
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