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Wheeler was Colorado's 1st National Monument. In 1943, due to it's remote location, there were only 43 visitors, so in 1950, it was abolished. It received Wilderness protection in 1993. I first visited in 2008, when I backpacked the 7 or 8 miles in (much of the literature says 7 miles, but...

I paid a visit to the Great Sand Dunes NP a few days ago. Usually the sunflowers are at peak the 3rd week in August. I've only been there for that a few times, but I've never seen it like this. There is a field of sunflowers that stretches from County Lane 6 a bit east of San Luis Lakes State...

I made a quick trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, hoping for some night photography. I've never gone there at this time of the year as I usually went to go rock climbing in March through maybe early May. The usual hazards are the ubiquitous poison ivy in the inner canyon and lots of bad...

Swertia perennis. Hiking up Watrous Gulch on a horribly smoky day in search of gentians, I found these amongst bog orchids, little elephant heads, kings crown and paintbrush. I thought the paintbrush color would make a nice change from green grass. There were bottle gentian (G affinis) down...

Ipomopsis aggregata. These were on my drive out from my aborted attempt to get in to the Wheeler Geologic Area the other day. It was starting to rain, but I still had to stop. The processing was giving me a tussle until I decided to crop like a senjafuda, the calling cards used by geisha.

Within 3 miles of the trailhead at Hanson's Mill is East Bellows Creek. Somehow, after hiking 26 miles in a day a week before, I thought it was probably 1-1 1/2 miles..... There was enough water in the creek to be my excuse to turn around, but not until after I spent a little time with...

Whipples Penstemons (whippleanus). I retreated to SW CO after a near-epic in WY that resulted in a 26-mile hike with the last 3 hours in the dark in the forest. I had to listen for my dogs tags jingling to know which way to go. I couldn't even see her (a mostly black dog) when she was right at...

Or soggy shooting star? Dewey dodecatheon? This was from the other week (just got around to processing it). Heavy rain the night before, low clouds/ground fog as I was walking in.

Pedicularis Groenlandica -- one of my favorites. I realized that some of you will find the top of it too busy, but that's what was happening at the time. Sort of looks like a cornucopia on top there.

I stopped on my way down from a hike to photograph some Little Elephant Heads and saw these bog orchids right next to them........

This was one of the few times I've found these baby pine drops. When I searched the database, there was a picture of others a bit taller that were guessed to have been above the pine floor for no more than a week.

Last week I had come across a particularly nice patch of this orchids (Corallorhiza Maculata v Maculata Orchidacea), but didn't have my camera with me. I went back today, a week later, and, of course, they were gone. A little more walking and searching brought me to this smaller patch. The...

Found a few. Some were pretty dried up, others standing tall & proud. Where I found them a few days ago, they were very nice, but I didn't go back today as the sawyers had been at work and it was far from peaceful. The most impressive ones I've seen were in Montana: probably 18" tall, if not...

Gaillardias are popping out in the foothills here.

Oxytropis Sericea, I mean. Crazy for locoweed? These flowers always catch my eye with their large, floppy petals, but I've had a hard time figuring out how to make them look interesting. Finally settled on moving in close.

That's how I started thinking of this patch of dodecatheons......... In addition to the 2 I shot before (and re-shot it today), there was a nice trio. That's just counting the blooms that were open. Preferences?

I'd screwed up my composition last time I was up there (didn't get a blade of grass out of the way & couldn't edit it out), so went back to try, try again. That bunch of shooting stars was gone, but there were many more. I liked this one with one pointed up & the other pointed down.

Posting separately as I was having some technical problems. Last nights rain brought some much needed moisture. All of the iris up higher (or almost all) were looking good, but just 50' lower, they were pretty torched.

We finally had a break in the heat wave today. Rained last night & was overcast all morning -- perfect for flowers! Hiked up to Homestead Meadows by Estes Park and the flowers were looking pretty good. Columbines, False Solomon's Seal, roses, alpine balsam root, dodecatheons, lupines, alpine...

I arose to eye a rose. After a few minutes walk, "Ay! A rose!" to which Ms Woodsii replied, beginning with, "I, a rose....." And cultivated brethren