~ Three Rivers Poppies ~

"See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence - see the stars, the moon, the sun, how they move in silence" ~  Mother Teresa

Poppies above Lake Kaweah, Three Rivers, California
(Photo by Robert Griego selected for cover of Living Here Magazine).

Sometimes a bike ride is in your own backyard.  The rains have been heavy this past winter and today is a perfect day to see the incredible wildflowers around Three Rivers.  When I took the picture of the poppies above, they seem to be thanking the skies for the recent rains.

Robert Griego, Dry Creek Road.

Denise Griego, Dry Creek Road.

We took one long trip to the coast one year, some 200 miles away.  That for Denise was a long, long bike ride.  She'll ride but prefers the short trips.  This will be about an 80-mile trip and will be stopping frequently to see the wildflowers.

She knows them all by heart and we both love to take pictures.   Poppies are one of my favorites and the hillsides are on fire with them.

There are two great spots to see them.  Dry Creek road is easy going and follows a creek that in years past has been dry.

It is common to see bald eagles and an occasional bobcat but today we only see many content cows in the pastures.  The green grass is about as high as we have ever seen it.

The poppies are everywhere.

Another great route is up the North Fork in Three Rivers and if you don't mind a dirt road, the poppies are abundant resting on steep hillsides.

I do not see another vehicle on this trip and the poppies are brilliant.

Our ride is so peaceful and we are rewarded with nature's colors around every turn.

My words will be short today, allowing the flowers to talk.

Homer Preserve, Dry Creek Road. Photo by Denise Griego.

Steep North Fork, near Three Rivers.

North Fork Road.

North Fork, at the end of the road.