After several days of cool, cloudy weather in Mesa, Arizona, it finally warmed up. We packed a picnic lunch one morning and drove north to McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills, Arizona. The recent and frequent rainfall over the winter made a perfect environment for a great season of wildflowers. On our drive there, the sides of the road were awash in color.

We stopped at the Visitors’ Center where we ate our lunch outside in a picnic area. Inside the Center, we saw some live rattlesnakes, and picked up some literature about wildflower species.

The Ranger at the gate suggested the North Trail hike for spotting the most wildflowers. It was supposed to be an easy hike. We planned to just walk a short way to get some photos.

At one point I turned and looked back and saw a beautiful view of the Four Peaks.

On our way, we met some people who told us there were fields of poppies about a half mile to a mile down the trail. What we didn’t realize is that the trail splits and makes a loop. We took the trail to the right, but the fields of poppies were on the trail to the left.

We kept going, thinking the fields of poppies might be around the next bend.

On our walk we saw a variety of wildflowers and desert plants in bloom.

The views of cacti and distant mountains were beautiful, but by now we were starting to get hot and thirsty.

We finally saw some yellow flowers, but they were not poppies. Could the people we met on the trail possibly have mistaken these yellow flowers for poppies? It seemed unlikely. But we’d already gone past the one mile marker. The path started to get steeper.

After walking more than a mile, we finally found a few poppies, but no fields of them. By now we were wishing that we’d worn a hat and had brought along some water. We decided it was time to turn back.

Not being satisfied with the amount of wildflowers we had seen on our walk, I was hoping to get more photos on our drive out of the park. I was not disappointed.

We stopped along the road in several places.

Finally, Ray spotted some poppies. I got out to get a better look and get some photos.

Knowing how quickly flowers can bloom and fade, I do not blame the Ranger for sending us off on a wild goose chase. If we had taken the correct pathway, we might have seen the fields of poppies described by the people we met on the trail. But it was not a total loss. We saw more flowers on our way out of the park than we saw on our hike.

The flowers lined the road as we headed home. In the distance was Weaver’s Needle in the Superstition Mountains. It had been a successful day of wildflower hunting and photography.

“And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you, O men of little faith?” Matthew 6:30