Last gasp for alpine flowers

I was up on Pikes Peak the other day and took a few photos of the remaining alpine flowers. Fall is a very short season up there, and the plants are quickly turning brown. Below is a spring beauty. The low-growing, leathery plant has a huge tap root. Like many alpine plants, it turns red toward the end of the season, possibly to absorb more heat from infrared light. Another favorite, which I didn't see last year, but spotted in droves this year, is Arctic Gentian. When this little white, speckled flower blooms at the end of August, it means frost and snow are near. Most flowers are dead and brown by the time its petals open.
Makes me wonder when we'll see the first real snow on the peak. Maybe very soon.

Celebrate in nature

If you've got a few free hours this week, celebrate the USofA the natural way - take a hike.

Zen sends these images from a recent hike on the Mount Esther Trail. You can hike up from Chipita Park or from the Crowe Gulch Trailhead off the Pikes Peak Highway.


Paintbrush popping up through the grasses near stands of aspen,
Cheery, yellow wallflowers
Blue-eyed grasses
Groundsel and geranium
Open meadows (Feel free to burst out in The Happy Wanderer song)
And a shockingly orange dandelion.
Whatever you do, don't forget your buddy.

Zen says the mix of blooms is fantastic and the grasses are knee deep. He also saw columbine, penstemon "rioting enmasse," daisies, irises, buttercups, cinquefoils and mertensia (chiming bells).

I have to agree with hiker Zen: "What a phenomonal year."

More blooming beauties

Out There friend Rhonda Van Pelt was working on a trail in Aiken Canyon on Saturday. She says there's an amazing display of wildflowers, and she sent these pix.



This looks like a mountain bluebell in my book. It's pretty and fairylike, regardless. No, says OT friend Zen, they're "Leather Flower in the genus Clematis L. which are in the buttercup family."



The paintbrush is really vibrant set against these tiny violet blooms. Rhonda says when she was a kid they called them wild snapdragons. Our friend Zen says: "Based on the leaf structure, the one labeled snapdragon looks an American Vetch sometimes called a Climbing Vetch. Vetches are in the pea family and there are tons of variations making it very difficult to get an exact identification."




Aiken Canyon can use some more friends like Rhonda. Workdays are the third Saturdays of the month. Rhonda says the gang meets at the visitors center between 8 and 8:30 a.m. and heads out with tools (furnished) about 9 a.m. They get back about noon and enjoy a potluck lunch with plenty of beverages (adult and otherwise).

Forgot to label the prickly poppy. Purdy.


How to find Aiken Canyon: From Interstate 25, take exit 135 (Academy Boulevard) to get to Highway 115. Go south 11.5 miles to Turkey Canyon Ranch Road (0.1 mile south of milepost 32, across the highway from the sign for the Turkey Canyon Recreation Area). Turn right (west) and drive 200 yards to the preserve parking area on the right, and watch for the Nature Conservancy sign

Hike Palmer Park

One more reason to get out into our beautiful parks today - unless you're already on your way into the mountains for an overnight:

Former Gazetteer and local photog Rhonda Van Pelt took these shots of a yucca in bloom and playing host to ladybugs following a hike Thursday in Palmer Park. (Steve Garufi, who takes photos wherever he goes in Colorado, has plenty of shots there on his site, in case you've never been.)

Wondering where to wander? Check this trail map.

Flora and fauna of Hogback Valley Trail

Here's a few pix to entice you out onto a trail today or this weekend.
After your initial climb up the gravel road from the 31st Street parking lot (we're talking Red Rock Canyon, here), this is the signpost you'll see on your left:

This was a few weeks ago. I'm sure it's greener today. If you go, let us know. I'll try to stop by on my way in for a fresh look.

Desert plume

Looks like paintbrush to me.

These two were just off the trail. It always pays to take your eyes off the path ahead and look around.

You don't see as many lizards here as you do hiking Southern California. I miss 'em. So I had to get a shot of this guy, doing his pushups.

24 hours - and then a day of rest

Out There friend and local cyclist Ultra Rob rode up the Santa Fe Trail to the 24-hour race and took photos along the way. Check 'em out.

See results of the 24-hour race here.

Flower power

How did Andy begin his story today? Oh, yeah. "The daffodils are blooming..."

Indeed they are, even in our "blizzard." (OK, not exactly blooming, but standing tall, nonetheless. There two are around the corner from the Gaz on El Paso.)