LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. (AP) — Like Dorothy in the 'Wizard of Oz,' the Southern California city of Lake Elsinore is being overwhelmed by the power of the poppies.
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — Like Dorothy in the"Wizard of Oz," the Southern California city of Lake Elsinore is being overwhelmed by the power of the poppies.
A vibrant field of poppies lures Dorothy into a trap in the"Wizard of Oz" when the wicked witch, acknowledging that no one can resist their beauty, poisons the wildflowers and she slips into a fatal slumber until the good witch reverses the spell. Patty Bishop, 48, of nearby Lake Forest, was on her second visit. The native Californian had never seen such an explosion of color from the state flower. She battled traffic Sunday but that didn't deter her from going back Monday for another look. She got there at sunrise and stayed for hours.
The two wedding photographers hiked on the designated trails with an engaged couple to do a photo shoot with the flowers in the background, but they were upset to see so many people going off-trail and so much garbage. They picked up as many discarded water bottles as they could carry. In 2017, a rain-fed super bloom brought in more than a half-million visitors to the town of 3,500. Restaurants ran out of food. Gas stations ran out of fuel. Traffic backed up on a single road for 20 miles .The crowds are back. Hotels are full. More than 6,000 people on a recent Saturday stopped at the visitor's center at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California's largest park with 1,000 square miles .
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