Black sage, Salvia mellifera
I sometimes use this beanie baby as a subject when I'm practicing camera controls or playing with a setting. I have no idea what I was actually testing at this particular time.
A green blister beetle, Lytta stygica. Its name comes from its defensive secretion which causes burning, and is actually medically used to remove warts.
A house finch watches the sunset from a tree in Julian. I saw some other bird that I didn't recognize, but it got away before I could take a picture of it.
Arizona lupine, Lupinus arizonicus
Arizona lupine, Lupinus arizonicus flower among Desert agave, Agave deserti var. deserti
Painted lady on a Fremont pincushion, Chaenactis fremontii
Desert chicory, Rafinesquia neomexicana flowers in front of Desert agave, Agave deserti var. deserti
Flowers on a A California barrel cactus, Ferocactus cylindraceus surrounded by Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
We had seen this aircraft on a landing strip along the S2 earlier as we drove south, with two people picnicking under its wing. It wasn't until I reviewed the photos later that I noticed the unusual push-pull design of the plane, in which engines are mounted on both the front and rear of the aircraft, possibly a Cessna Skymaster 337.
Arizona lupine, Lupinus arizonicus
A painted lady nectars on flowers of a Common phacelia, Phacelia distans
A painted lady nectars on flowers of a Common phacelia, Phacelia distans
Dad looks at phacelias nestled among Desert agave, Agave deserti var. deserti
It even opened up its wings to show off its colors
The pained lady very considerately hangs around while I take more pictures.
A Painted Lady nectars on a cryptantha
The moon rises behind a flowering ocotillo.
Dad walks off towards a geocache near milepost 35 on the S2
An Ocotillo, Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens flowers over a hillside of Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
Ocotillos, Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens, bloom in the distance beyond a veil of Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
A few Parish poppies, Eschscholzia parishii, stand out on a ridge
Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii follow the contours of the ravine down the hill
Two long-decaying chollas tower over a hillside of recently blooming Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
Another California barrel cactus, Ferocactus cylindraceus surrounded by Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
A California barrel cactus, Ferocactus cylindraceus surrounded by Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
A couple California barrel cactuses, Ferocactus cylindraceus, grow among a hillside of Parish poppy, Eschscholzia parishii
Top-down look into the Desert five spot, Eremalche rotundifolia, where its five spots are clearly visible.
Desert five spot, Eremalche rotundifolia
Dad is briefly distracted from following his GPS towards a geocache to wonder how a bright yellow towel came to be left in the middle of nowhere
Desert five spot, Eremalche rotundifolia
Welcome to Anza-Borrego State Park
Closeup of flower on a Gander cholla, Cylindropuntia ganderi
Gander cholla, Cylindropuntia ganderi
Little flowered heliotrope phacelia, Phacelia crenulata var. minutiflora
Flower of a Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides
A caterpillar munches on a leaf of a Cryptantha flower.
Indian Head and San Ysidro Mountain behind a sparse field of desert wildflowers
A withering Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides
Tiny flower of a White mallow, Eremalche exilis
These look more like Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides
Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides ssp. deltoides or California evening primrose, Oenothera californica, it's too far away to tell in this photo.
An understory of cryptantha fills in the space below the dense forest of Desert dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata
Adults, children, seniors wander every which way among Desert dandelions, Malacothrix glabrata
Visitors comb a carpet of Desert dandelion, Malacothrix glabrata, which seems to have exploded from a fallow field explodes
Another view of the Blazing Star bush
Indian Head Mountain rises behind a Desert lily, Hesperocallis undulata sprouting from a patch of empty sand
A bunch of Desert lilies, Hesperocallis undulata, climb through the remains of a dead Creosote bush, Larrea tridentata.
A field of white cryptantha bordered by Deerweed, [Acmispon glaber](https://calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=11280], with a few Wild hyacinth, Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum pipping up here and there and into the distance.