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California is about all things golden. From the historic Gold Rush of 1849 to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, for better or worse, we are associated with this color.

So it seems only fitting that in 1890 the “golden poppy” was chosen as our state flower by an overwhelming majority of votes. Beating out the mariposa lily and a lesser type of poppy, it soon became known as the California Poppy.

We in Bakersfield are fortunate that this luminescent flower has its greatest showing nearby in Antelope Valley. Unfortunately, some years have greater yields than others, which has led the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to create a tape recording with information about the blooming fields (724-1180). It is updated regularly so that those of us who like to drive out there each year are sure to know the best weeks to go.

2005 had some great viewing, but we experienced a weird warm period in February of this year, followed by March rains, so a phone call to the center informed me that we are not yet into the peak bloom period. This flower is fickle, and a late drenching could mean a second germination, resulting in fantastic viewing in April and May, or it could simply mean that we’ll have to wait until next year to make our pilgrimage to these golden fields of glory.

This “on again/off again” quality makes these flowers twice as breathtaking for me when they do have a good year, but I get a little melancholy when they don’t. I actually grieve a bit when I realize it’s an off year.

Maybe it’s because several years ago, when a friend first took me to Antelope Valley, I was totally unprepared for the carpet of poppies that covered the area for as far as my eyes could see. I was astonished! We parked along the side of the road and wandered through the dense concentrations of blooms. People were everywhere, frolicking, sketching or musing. There were lots of folks with cameras, and I remember thinking, “Surely this must be what the entrance to heaven looks like –– a community photo shoot in an endless field of poppies!”

If this year’s flowers decide to surprise us with a late showing and you do decide to go, bring a windbreaker or jacket –– the winds out there are wicked. You might even experience something that I call “wind fatigue,” a condition that requires you to slink back to your car and crouch inside with all the windows rolled up until the whooshing sound fades from your head. Also, although it sounds like an idyllic afternoon, I wouldn’t recommend packing a picnic basket. I have watched with silent amusement as “first timers” valiantly tried to eat lunch. They would bolt up now and again to chase napkins and other such flimsy things swept away by the bullying winds.

Definitely bring your camera. You will undoubtedly want to catch a little of our state’s golden hue found in the poppy fields of Antelope Valley just 75 miles southeast of Bakersfield.