Judi Tentor won’t judge you, superbloom selfie-takers.
The Mission Hills resident is a photographer, after all.
But Thursday, she was painting landscapes at the Henderson Canyon Road wildflower area, which again drew legions of sightseers from around the world.
“I think people have taken pictures of themselves since photography began. It’s just easier now,” Tentor said while “trying to do a color wash” with watercolors in a painter’s book she made herself.
An expert at analog and historical photographic processes, like Cyanotype, Tentor said she sought to capture some detail in her flower painting on a cool and windy day in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
“This is good observational practice,” she said.
Elsewhere, visitors from Japan snapped away, along with flower fans driving cars with Minnesota and Washington state license plates.
An architect from Eugene, Oregon, took pictures as his wife and their leashed dog explored the yellow, white, purple and orange blooms spread like tentacles across the sandy desert.
On this website’s 10th anniversary, Times of San Diego took state Route 22 to Borrego but fortuitously journeyed home via state Route 2.
Snow awaited.
A heavy dusting in the Laguna Mountains was a happy surprise as we drove state Route 79, later taking a detour on Interstate 8 east to Sunrise Highway.
At the higher elevation, a family piled out of a car with Arizona plates and romped in the snow. Others threw snowballs or did some sledding.
The National Weather Service sees a chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday for the Lagunas, not mentioning snow.
But a forecast for the Borrego superbloom came from a park ranger guiding some visitors at Henderson Canyon.
He said now was “peak” wildflower time but didn’t say how long it would last.
For word on where to see the best blooms — including purple Desert Sand Verbena, White Dune Evening Primrose and Yellow Desert Sunflower — check out the local natural history association website.
Or call the Wildflower Hotline at 760-767-4684.
