Chautauqua is really starting to kick into to gear now. The meadows are really green and everything is looking really good.
I saw at least half a dozen wildflowers in bloom and more getting ready to bloom. You can see images from yesterday 5-11 in my post on Chautauqua below. The next couple of wereks should be great, especially with all the afternoon thunderstorms in the forecast.
The Pasque flower is always my signal that Spring is really on its way. I found them in abundance up in Wyoming at the Vedauwoo Recreation Area where I spent the day hiking and exploring.
Canon 30D, 24-105mm f/4 IS, hand-held with patience in the breeze
The Hedgehog Cacti are out at RMNP today. Also saw Pussytoes, some Oregon Grape (thought that would have been gone long ago), and a couple of types of Aster/Daisy.
Nice Bob. That's right around the corner from my house, but I hadn't been over there since last fall. I've been spending my time in Ute Valley and the flowers have been good there too.
Mel, I don't know if you're familiar with it, but there is a trail near the end of Coldwater Drive that runs west between the quarry and the Blodgett Open Space. It's marked only with a "No Motor Vehicles" sign. That area is where I've seen some pretty nice stuff, including some pretty vivid paintbrush.
The flowers in Chautauqua meadow are just starting to get a little too much sun now, but they still have a couple days left. There is stll a lot of fun to be had on the Bluebell Trail with some penstemon, lupine and other varieties. For more info see my post lower in the forum.
BrentM and I spent the afternoon out at Pawnee Buttes yesterday (5/26). The Scarlet Globemallow is really looking good with large patches of orange among the green, green grass.
It's a wonder what a couple of weeks will do! Great shot, Scott. The Globemallow was just beginning to peek out when I was there, and it was impossible to judge how much there'd be.
Depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for forest flowers, Calypso Orchids are starting to bloom now, as are Chiming Bells. The meadows tend to peak a bit later, and Columbine are still a couple of weeks off in the lower parts of the park (or at least I didn't see any immediate signs of a Columbine bloom at Wild Basin this weekend). Alpine flowers don't start until around July.
Drove up Lands End Road on Grand Mesa on Memorial Day. Flowers very few and far
between. The ones that I did find were very stunted. It looks like too little snow at the
right time.
I was out to Pawnee Buttes June 1. I didn't see too many of the globemallow Scott mentioned but there were some nice primrose, though half were past and starting to wilt. Don't think it will be a great year for flowers out there as things looked pretty dry, but some of the prairie flowers were just getting going so might be a little more interesting in a week or so. I've posted a shot from my trip in the Man and Nature forum if you're interested.
There are absolute, positively NO wildflowers at Roxborough State Park. Nope. No-one needs to go there to see fields of Lupine and Penstemon, no-one should bother with dreams of abundant Yucca or neon colored Paintbrush. It's really not worth it - really. If you need convincing, I'll be sure to post a picture or two of an empty field in the next day or so - once I've had a chance to get back there in the morning without the dreary cloud cover.
And don't think you'll find lush green ferns and grasses under fresh green Gambel's Oak, either...
(Snark brought to you by no sleep... Pictures will follow when I'm reasonably sure I can process the images without rendering grass in pink or something...)
Hmmm... Do detect a hint of sarcasm Les. If so maybe this is actually some secret code which means don't walk but RUN to Roxborough State Park if you want to see wildlfowers!
Or maybe, just maybe I am letting my imagination get the best of me.
Boulder open areas have been great for at least three weeks now.
Oh well, I'll be in Yellowstone/TNP until 6/20. By the time I return wildflowers should be well under way in many more locations.
It's been pretty spectacular out there the past week or so. Lupines were in fine shape on Wednesday, will probably last through the weekend in great condition. Grass might start to get dry after that, though.
I was just up on Trail Ridge last night; Ute Trail (East Side) alpine wildflowers are coming on strong. There were decent patches of Forget-me-not, Phlox, Wallflower, Chiming Bells, and other common alpine flowers already out. The rest of the tundra is still a bit behind, which is normal.
I hiked to Lake Isabelle (above Brainard Lake) for sunrise yesterday (Sat. 6/30) and the wildflowers are looking good - Marsh Marigold, Glacier Lily, Bog Laurel, Shooting Stars, and some Parry Primrose, Paintbrush and Columbine.
I'm also curious to hear about flowers in the San Juans. I'm leaving on Friday for a week there and will post an update upon my return. In the mean time, anyone? Flowers? Anyone?
I was up at Lake Isabelle yesterday morning for sunrise. The waterfalls/cascades and wildflowers kickin' into gear.
I am terrible with identifying flower names. But there seemed to be a lot of white daisy types, and several kings of purple flowers next to the streams and falls, also bluebells along the shoreline. There were others as well. I wouldn't call it peak yet as the snow is just melting off in spots. Some are still small. But there is a lot of color popping up. So the next couple of weeks should be getting even better.
Now is a good time to go to RMNP Amy. I was there last Saturday and saw a lot of flowers. This weekend should be even better. Look here to see some sky pilot I saw at the Forest Canyon Overlook on Trail Ridge. Have fun.
Just stopped at Shrine Pass on the way home today to check it out. It's looking better than last year (which isn't saying much). The paint brush is out but looks like a lot of buds need to open yet. I'd guess the next couple of weekends should be pretty good. There are a lot of the little yellow flowers (showing the extent of my wildflower knowledge) out near the parking area. Thicker than I've ever seen them in that particular area.
Thanks for the update, Tony. I was thinking about that today as I drove back from the Bells. I'll probably head out to Shrine next weekend to see how it's going.
Maroon Bells is flowering, but not as nice in the field by the lake as I remember. The Aspen woods have lots of Queen Anne's Lace, and I saw a few Monkshood - including a white version I never knew existed. Independence and Fremont Passes had lots of Alpine and Scarlet Paintbrush, many assorted small yellow flowers I didn't take time to ID, and the Elephant Head was blooming on Independence Pass, along with a few early Rosy Paintbrush.
Kebler Pass was nice as I came flying over it Tuesday evening in a race to get to CB for sunset. The Aspen were clean and bright white and the late afternoon sun shined through the forest in a way that makes me grateful to be in Colorado this time of year.
In the CB valley the flowers are mostly non-existent. The majority of the Corn Lillies have begun the process of dying for the season and are various shades of yellow and brown. 90% of the flowers I’ve seen are above 9000 feet. The valley is just plain dry.
Yesterday (Wednesday) morning I headed up to Paradise Basin for sunrise and got quite a surprise with all the flowers near the small pond (don’t know the pond name). There were Pink Elephant Head, Bistort (they look like overgrown Q-tips), Bluebells, Sulpher Paintbrush, Jacob’s Ladder, and Sneezeweed in abundance, as well as some Sub-alpine Daisies and a few Marsh Marigolds. My flower expert friend says there is lots of Fireweed yet to come in the next week atop Paradise Basin.
As we drove down the north side of the basin we encountered red and pink Paintbrush, more Sneezeweed, Moss Campion, more Elephant Head, King’s Crown, Bistort, Monkshood, Red Gilia, purple and white Columbine, and an area about 0.2-0.3 mile from the PB pond that had waterfalls (more like a water run) and loads of Bittercress on all sides of the water, plus some yellow Monkeyflower interspersed. The flowers in the basin area are the most abundant I’ve seen in the last 3 years. Most of them were fresh and many were in the process of blooming within the next week.
We headed north through the basin until we met up with Gothic Road at Schofield Pass. We then proceeded to the East Fork of the West Maroon Pass Trail. After coming out of the woodsy part of the trail we encountered Sneezeweed, Columbine (some mini red Columbine were hidden in the woods), purple Lupine, Bluebells, a few red Paintbrush, some Rosy Paintbrush, Monkshood, Elephant Head, Rosy Pussytoes up at near the top of the trail by a stream, Blue Flax, and Richardson’s Geranium. There were lots of black flies and grasshoppers (they were eating the Columbines), as well. By the time we neared the top of the pass at nearly 11am, I was hungry and annoyed by the flies so we headed down for lunch and showers.
My friend Karyn (aforementioned flower expert) took a drive above Lake Irwin in the Robinson Basin area on Tuesday and said the flowers are everywhere! She encountered Whipple Penstamon, more Monkshood, Wild Rose, numerous clusters of red, rosy, and Sulpher Paintbrush, Scarlet and pink Gilia, lots of Lupine, Columbine, Bluebells, more King’s Crown, more Sneezeweed, Cow Parsnip, Yellow Monkeyflower, lots of Corydalis, more pink Elephant Head, and some others she has since forgotten.
Karyn and I drove to the southeast side of Lake Irwin for sunrise shots this morning, but the sky was not cooperative. It rained for about 2 hours this morning and as I write this at 10am Thursday it’s overcast and cold. However, the area is in need of rain so I won’t complain. Between the showers last night and the drizzle this morning I would venture to guess the valley has received about 0.2” so perhaps that will help the flowers for next week. It rained for a while in the mountains last night as well.
In short:
There are plenty of flowers to be had if you are somewhat easy to impress (loads of Sneezeweed, Alpine Sunflowers, Sulpher Paintbrush, Yarrow, Penstamon, Jacob’s Ladder, King’s Crown, Gilia, and Purple Lupine) and don’t mind driving to 9,000+ ft. elevation. There are plenty of macro and intimate scenic shots available and if you like grand scenics or reflections that don’t involve tons of flowers, you’ll be happy here. If you get bored you can always head to Gunnison for the Cattlemen’s Days rodeo!
If you are looking for fields of Purple Lupine or Paintbrush near Gothic or don’t have a high clearance vehicle, you may want to consider other areas this season. Before you make any decisions, I’d recommend checking out what others have to say, especially with this new rainfall.
For a few photos from yesterday (low res.) check out my website http://amylindsey.smugmug.com/gallery/3140586#172287289
None of the photos are meant for critique and will be taken off the website by the end of next week. They have dust and other issues and need some Photoshoping, but i wanted to get them online quickly so you all had an idea of what was out here.
I look forward to seeing more of your images once you have a chance to process them. Our firewall at work is blocking the smugmug shots. But I'll check those out tonight.
Just curious if you took a look at Emerald Lake at the top of Gothic Rd before Schofield Pass. It had really nice wildflowers last year and is a little higher up than Gothic and the valley areas.
We stopped and took a pic of the Emerald Lake, but didn't go down into the lake area. It certainly was emerald!
Just an update for everyone- It's been raining off and on here all day and is expected to continue tomorrow. Clouds have been bland and hope for a sunset tonight has been greatly diminshed. Temps starting Sat. are expected to go into the mid-90s. I would think the rain will be very helpful for flowers next week. Of course by then I'll be back in Indiana at work. Bummer!
Can anyone tell me a cheap but clean place to stay around the Dunes? I'm heading there tomorrow. Thanks!
I was in Crested Butte on Monday and Tuesday. The smoke from the Utah fires was
extremely thick. Photos of more than a few inches were out of the question.
Gunnison County has been gradually over the years, treating Kebler Pass for dust
suppression. The whole road was treated this time. It works. The washboards
and dust are gone.
On a little different subject, I found that the Crystal Resort at the foot of the Paonia
Dam has been sold to a Kansas private corporation called Koch Industries. They are
big in both Natural Gas and Coal. Koch is the largestest private corporation in the U.S.
They also bought several more places along the
bottom of the Anthracite Creek all the way up to the Id Ra Ha Je camp. (About half
way to the bottom of Kebler Pass.)
I also found out that they bought out some big
ranches up McClure, right under the Ragged Mountains, and are negotiating for
some more. I did a little checking on the internet, and found that they have a
terrible environmental record. I think that this is the opening salvo of a big natural
gas drilling push.
I was checking the Colorado WF updates and just thought I'd chime in here about Koch's activities. It doesn't make much sense for them to be buying property they want to drill on - O&G companies normally will acquire a mineral lease (a lot cheaper) on large tracts they're interested in, especially if it's a wildcat prospect. But it does make one wonder what they are up to with such large property acquisitions...
Sorry to be off-topic but hope this will put a few minds at ease about gas drilling.
I hiked to Mirror Lake on the West side of the Indian Peaks Wilderness on Sunday (Monarch Lake Trailhead). The flowers were wonderful in the meadows and along Cascade Creek - Columbines, Indian Paintbrush, etc., etc., etc. The Columbines were extraordinary in one particular meadow about 5.5 miles from the trailhead. Some of the blooms were the size of the palm of my hand and there were clusters of 20 or more all along a small feeder stream - just incredible. Enjoy yourselves out there!!
Posted by Scott Fricke on July 18, 2007 at 12:20 AM
I was down in the San Juans this weekend (7/11-16). Black Bear Pass was by far the best area that I visited for wildflowers, tons of Columbines. Clear Lake was also pretty good, and Imogene Pass was also good. This photo is from Black Bear Pass. I'm terrible with flowers, gusts of wind suddenly appear whenever I point my camera at a flower. I've never noticed Columbine had the little squid tails before so I broke my rule (okay, guideline) of not taking a photo of anything that moves.
Excellent flower shot and report. I hear also hear Black Bear Pass is a pretty nasty road.
- Derek
Posted by Doug Andrews on July 18, 2007 at 5:02 PM
I was in Mayflower Gulch this morning. Lots of flowers and a good variety of them as well. The vast majority of them were nice and fresh. That is, not dry and crispy like one would think based on how hot and dry its been lately. Plenty of Sulphur Paintbrush around the old buildings. The red/orange variety of Paintbrush and Blue Columbine were more prevalent along the road.
Posted by Scott Fricke on July 18, 2007 at 9:00 PM
Derek,
Black Bear is more scary than difficult, its just narrow with big drops. The wildflowers are within 2 miles of Route 550 before it gets to the scary/hard part, a passenger vehicle could go that far easily.
Posted by Les Barstow on July 19, 2007 at 12:02 PM
Met Tony L. up on Shrine Ridge over the weekend; lots and lots of flowers up there, though they're drying up a bit in the lower areas. It was so good I went back yesterday for sunrise before high-tailing it down to work in Denver!
It should still be good through at least this weekend.
Les, just got my 8x10's back. Best shots I've ever captured up there. Hopefully the helicopter wasn't still adding to the outdoors experience.
Posted by Les Barstow on July 19, 2007 at 12:49 PM
The helicopter was gone by Wednesday, thank goodness.
I didn't get the clear sky you got on Sunday; by yesterday, the clouds were starting to roll in. Got a good sunrise with the clouds over Holy Cross, though. I don't think I'll be disappointed when I finally transfer the images to my computer.
YBB last wed. This was at Twin Falls, quite a few Columbine's seem to be in bloom and look just like this, Mountain bluebells, Paintbrush, and a few others that I have yet to identify. I will post some more either tonight or tomorrow from twin falls, and upper yankee boy. Clear Lake had some nice flowers going on up there too, that was last tues.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on August 12, 2007 at 11:10 PM
Went to Mayflower Gulch yesterday. There is still some decent fireweed next to the old Boston Mine ruins. There is also some fading pink paintbrush here and there along the creek but everything else looks like it has dried up within the last week or so. The flower season definitely seems to be coming to a close there.
Posted by Bob Falcone on August 15, 2007 at 11:40 PM
For those in the Woodland Park/Colorado Springs area: I was up on Shubarth Trail today, and hiked down to the reservoir. There are still lots of Asters and bluebells to be seen. I also saw what looked to me like small yellow "snapdragons" which weren't there just 2 weeks ago when I was last up there.
Discussion
52 repliesI saw at least half a dozen wildflowers in bloom and more getting ready to bloom. You can see images from yesterday 5-11 in my post on Chautauqua below. The next couple of wereks should be great, especially with all the afternoon thunderstorms in the forecast.
Canon 30D, 24-105mm f/4 IS, hand-held with patience in the breeze
That's a nice shot. I'd never guess it was hand-held.
between. The ones that I did find were very stunted. It looks like too little snow at the
right time.
Art L.
And don't think you'll find lush green ferns and grasses under fresh green Gambel's Oak, either...
(Snark brought to you by no sleep... Pictures will follow when I'm reasonably sure I can process the images without rendering grass in pink or something...)
Or maybe, just maybe I am letting my imagination get the best of me.
Boulder open areas have been great for at least three weeks now.
Oh well, I'll be in Yellowstone/TNP until 6/20. By the time I return wildflowers should be well under way in many more locations.
I am terrible with identifying flower names. But there seemed to be a lot of white daisy types, and several kings of purple flowers next to the streams and falls, also bluebells along the shoreline. There were others as well. I wouldn't call it peak yet as the snow is just melting off in spots. Some are still small. But there is a lot of color popping up. So the next couple of weeks should be getting even better.
You can view the images here:
http://derek.zenfolio.com/p474579087
Maroon Bells is flowering, but not as nice in the field by the lake as I remember. The Aspen woods have lots of Queen Anne's Lace, and I saw a few Monkshood - including a white version I never knew existed. Independence and Fremont Passes had lots of Alpine and Scarlet Paintbrush, many assorted small yellow flowers I didn't take time to ID, and the Elephant Head was blooming on Independence Pass, along with a few early Rosy Paintbrush.
Here’s your Crested Butte flower report.
Kebler Pass was nice as I came flying over it Tuesday evening in a race to get to CB for sunset. The Aspen were clean and bright white and the late afternoon sun shined through the forest in a way that makes me grateful to be in Colorado this time of year.
In the CB valley the flowers are mostly non-existent. The majority of the Corn Lillies have begun the process of dying for the season and are various shades of yellow and brown. 90% of the flowers I’ve seen are above 9000 feet. The valley is just plain dry.
Yesterday (Wednesday) morning I headed up to Paradise Basin for sunrise and got quite a surprise with all the flowers near the small pond (don’t know the pond name). There were Pink Elephant Head, Bistort (they look like overgrown Q-tips), Bluebells, Sulpher Paintbrush, Jacob’s Ladder, and Sneezeweed in abundance, as well as some Sub-alpine Daisies and a few Marsh Marigolds. My flower expert friend says there is lots of Fireweed yet to come in the next week atop Paradise Basin.
As we drove down the north side of the basin we encountered red and pink Paintbrush, more Sneezeweed, Moss Campion, more Elephant Head, King’s Crown, Bistort, Monkshood, Red Gilia, purple and white Columbine, and an area about 0.2-0.3 mile from the PB pond that had waterfalls (more like a water run) and loads of Bittercress on all sides of the water, plus some yellow Monkeyflower interspersed. The flowers in the basin area are the most abundant I’ve seen in the last 3 years. Most of them were fresh and many were in the process of blooming within the next week.
We headed north through the basin until we met up with Gothic Road at Schofield Pass. We then proceeded to the East Fork of the West Maroon Pass Trail. After coming out of the woodsy part of the trail we encountered Sneezeweed, Columbine (some mini red Columbine were hidden in the woods), purple Lupine, Bluebells, a few red Paintbrush, some Rosy Paintbrush, Monkshood, Elephant Head, Rosy Pussytoes up at near the top of the trail by a stream, Blue Flax, and Richardson’s Geranium. There were lots of black flies and grasshoppers (they were eating the Columbines), as well. By the time we neared the top of the pass at nearly 11am, I was hungry and annoyed by the flies so we headed down for lunch and showers.
My friend Karyn (aforementioned flower expert) took a drive above Lake Irwin in the Robinson Basin area on Tuesday and said the flowers are everywhere! She encountered Whipple Penstamon, more Monkshood, Wild Rose, numerous clusters of red, rosy, and Sulpher Paintbrush, Scarlet and pink Gilia, lots of Lupine, Columbine, Bluebells, more King’s Crown, more Sneezeweed, Cow Parsnip, Yellow Monkeyflower, lots of Corydalis, more pink Elephant Head, and some others she has since forgotten.
Karyn and I drove to the southeast side of Lake Irwin for sunrise shots this morning, but the sky was not cooperative. It rained for about 2 hours this morning and as I write this at 10am Thursday it’s overcast and cold. However, the area is in need of rain so I won’t complain. Between the showers last night and the drizzle this morning I would venture to guess the valley has received about 0.2” so perhaps that will help the flowers for next week. It rained for a while in the mountains last night as well.
In short:
There are plenty of flowers to be had if you are somewhat easy to impress (loads of Sneezeweed, Alpine Sunflowers, Sulpher Paintbrush, Yarrow, Penstamon, Jacob’s Ladder, King’s Crown, Gilia, and Purple Lupine) and don’t mind driving to 9,000+ ft. elevation. There are plenty of macro and intimate scenic shots available and if you like grand scenics or reflections that don’t involve tons of flowers, you’ll be happy here. If you get bored you can always head to Gunnison for the Cattlemen’s Days rodeo!
If you are looking for fields of Purple Lupine or Paintbrush near Gothic or don’t have a high clearance vehicle, you may want to consider other areas this season. Before you make any decisions, I’d recommend checking out what others have to say, especially with this new rainfall.
Hope you find this a helpful report!
None of the photos are meant for critique and will be taken off the website by the end of next week. They have dust and other issues and need some Photoshoping, but i wanted to get them online quickly so you all had an idea of what was out here.
Excellent report!!!
I look forward to seeing more of your images once you have a chance to process them. Our firewall at work is blocking the smugmug shots. But I'll check those out tonight.
Just curious if you took a look at Emerald Lake at the top of Gothic Rd before Schofield Pass. It had really nice wildflowers last year and is a little higher up than Gothic and the valley areas.
Thanks again for the heads up.
Derek~
We stopped and took a pic of the Emerald Lake, but didn't go down into the lake area. It certainly was emerald!
Just an update for everyone- It's been raining off and on here all day and is expected to continue tomorrow. Clouds have been bland and hope for a sunset tonight has been greatly diminshed. Temps starting Sat. are expected to go into the mid-90s. I would think the rain will be very helpful for flowers next week. Of course by then I'll be back in Indiana at work. Bummer!
Can anyone tell me a cheap but clean place to stay around the Dunes? I'm heading there tomorrow. Thanks!
extremely thick. Photos of more than a few inches were out of the question.
Gunnison County has been gradually over the years, treating Kebler Pass for dust
suppression. The whole road was treated this time. It works. The washboards
and dust are gone.
On a little different subject, I found that the Crystal Resort at the foot of the Paonia
Dam has been sold to a Kansas private corporation called Koch Industries. They are
big in both Natural Gas and Coal. Koch is the largestest private corporation in the U.S.
They also bought several more places along the
bottom of the Anthracite Creek all the way up to the Id Ra Ha Je camp. (About half
way to the bottom of Kebler Pass.)
I also found out that they bought out some big
ranches up McClure, right under the Ragged Mountains, and are negotiating for
some more. I did a little checking on the internet, and found that they have a
terrible environmental record. I think that this is the opening salvo of a big natural
gas drilling push.
Art L.
Sorry to be off-topic but hope this will put a few minds at ease about gas drilling.
Excellent flower shot and report. I hear also hear Black Bear Pass is a pretty nasty road.
- Derek
Black Bear is more scary than difficult, its just narrow with big drops. The wildflowers are within 2 miles of Route 550 before it gets to the scary/hard part, a passenger vehicle could go that far easily.
It should still be good through at least this weekend.
I didn't get the clear sky you got on Sunday; by yesterday, the clouds were starting to roll in. Got a good sunrise with the clouds over Holy Cross, though. I don't think I'll be disappointed when I finally transfer the images to my computer.