Friday, October 01, 2010

Four Corners Furtherance: Flowers

Once we got west of the continental divide, the flowers got to be a little different. Well, different for me.

After the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999, "Columbine" became synonymous with tragedy. But the Colorado Blue Columbine is the state flower of the Rocky Mountain State and it adorns the state scenic byways signs. Needless to say, it doesn't deserve the bad reputation. I took this photograph

Click on any image to make it larger.

On the top right is another flower I found in Colorado, the Scarlet Bugler, near the Spruce Tree House Pueblo I wrote in Mesa Verde National Park. It must like streams, I found some more of them near a creek in Zion National Park. 

Rabbitbrushes are common in the West. I can't quite place the variety of the one on the center right which I encountered in Capitol Reef National Park, but I saw quite of few of these during my Four Corners Furtherance trip.

From one brush to another: Indian Paintbrush, on the lower right, is a common flower of the west, and it's name is correct, it was used as a paint brush by some Native Americans. It was also used for medicinal purposes.

Next: Trees

Earlier posts:

The gateway to the Arches
Petroglyphs
Arches National Park and the symbol of Utah
A final look at Capitol Reef
Butch Cassidy
Chimney rocks
Fruita
Capitol Reef National Park
The controversial Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
A final look at Bryce
Different scenes of Bryce Canyon
"Hell of a place," Bryce Canyon
Red Canyon
Cedar Breaks
Taylor Creek Trail
Kolob Canyons
The geology of Zion National Park
Overview of Zion National Park
Moqui Cave
Arizona's White Mesa and roadside stands
The dogs of Kayenta
Monument Valley at sunrise
Monument Valley at sunset
The road to Monument Valley
The monument is closed and in the wrong spot
More of Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park and the Ancients
Gerald R. Ford Memorial Highway
Flatlanders battle the Rocky Mountains and a car gets altitude sickness
Buffalo Bill's gravesite
Buffalo Bill's Scout's Rest Ranch 
My rattlesnake sighting


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