Photo from May 2005

I thought you might enjoy this photo of some Carizzo Plain wildflowers in the back country northeast of Santa Barbara, sent to me by a firefighter friend who lives there... Inconceivably colorful array, eh?!

Size: Approximately 41,330 acres in four units: San Emigdio, Antimony, Pleito, and Tecuya.
Location: About 40 miles northeast of Santa Barbara in Kern County.
Description: Three peaks dominate the pine-crested mountain range known locally as the Antimony-Tecuya Range. They are San Emigdio (7495'), Antimony (6849') and Tecuya (7150'). Visitors to the tops of these peaks are rewarded with spectacular views that encompass everything from desert areas to the east, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada to the north, and to the west and the south the Carrizo Plainand deep into the heart of Los Padres National Forest.
In between these peaks are deep canyons whose north slopes contain some of the most outstanding groupings of wildlife. Beautiful stands of big cone spruce, rare in this area, and sugar as well as statuesque Jeffrey and Ponderosa pine are found in these moisture-rich areas, providing a varied backdrop for a wide variety of herbaceous plants as well as habitat for deer, mountain lion and bear as well as smaller animals such as the spotted owl, blue grouse and southern rubber boa. To be especially noted is the fact that this is part of the range of the California condor, which has been sighted all throughout the area.