In California many of our state parks have been closed due to severe budget problems. Some state park parking areas and many rest rooms are closed until July this year, but you can still have access to the beautiful coastal parts by parking along Highway One, the main coastal route through Sonoma and Mendocino counties where we live. Last week our local hiking group wandered along the northern part of Salt Point State Park and found thousands of Calochortus tolmiei in bloom. See: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… We had parked around mile marker 44 and hiked down toward and along the coast. Also spotted some Grey Whales at our lunch stop migrating north. The Calochortus seem to be more plentiful this year. There are also some Lillium maritimum along Hwy One that should also be starting to bloom very soon. Just wanted to share one of our local wonders with any of you able to visit our northern California coast. Bob Rutemoeller