"I'm making an executive decision to go see wildflowers." Though no irony was intended in putting "executive" and "wildflowers" in the same sentence, in hindsight, it was hard not to see it. Already part of the negotiation was seeing Salvation Mountain in Niland in the same trip. Driving out, trying to get there and to Anza-Borrego state park and get back home in one day didn't seem worth it. With a two-day trip decided upon, preparations could begin in earnest.
Procrastination sometimes gets the better of this particular family. Searching for a pet-friendly hotel began one day, but didn't finish until the day before departure. Mild panic set in when the possibilities from the prior search could no longer be found. This Super Bloom thing was more popular than we knew. We just wanted something to do during Child's spring break and the record rainfall made Parents think seeing wildflowers would be worthwhile. Dad had just finished reading Last Child in the Woods and wanted to make sure Child got occasional high doses of nature.
Regardless, staring at us were options not at all palatable. The remaining pet-friendly hotels had unreasonable restrictions: low weight limits, high fees, high-weight-low-fee-but-no-kids, etc. Eventually, we decided we could afford the high fees and picked a hotel in Palm Springs near places we were already familiar with. A few clicks later, the reservation was made.
What about the gardeners? Shit! Fuck! Unlocking the gate and locking up again after them would mean we couldn't leave until fairly late in the day. Most of day 1's daylight would be gone by the time we reached Salvation Mountain or Anza-Borrego. Easy, just stay two nights! If only we would have thought of that before making our reservation! No matter, there were too many other things to attend to. We would ask the hotel when we arrived.
The morning of our departure, the gardeners made sure to be later than usual. After they left, a few final preparations were made. And they're off!
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