Prairiebreak: COVivID-Vicarious travel--ten years ago to be precise.

Young Rocky Mountain goat

You may think I'm "kidding", but after years of globetrotting, I'm finding myself travelling more and more vicariously--in my own past travels. I HAVE gotten up to our mountains a few times--but nowhere nearly as often as I did ten years ago, when I took the album of pictures you see below...

Eriogonum acaule

The first set of images was taken on a field trip to Albany County, Wyoming with Wiert Nieuman, who'd just retired as director of Utrecht botanic garden in Netherlands. I was surprised that this tiniest of buckwheats was still in full bloom at one of my favorite spots--most years it would have been done by the end of June...

Eriogonum acaule

This does sneak into one corner of Colorado (Moffat County) but it is quite abundant quite a few spots around Wyoming...

Eriogonum acaule

This is one of many cushion forming plants you find on the Laramie Plains. And a choice one indeed!

Laramie plains

You can see mats and cushions as far as the eye can see...

Astragalus sericoleucus

Moving in closer you can see the "barren" is studded with flowers.


Astragalus sericoleucus with Wiert Nieuman (left) and Kirk Fieseler (right)

Stenotus (Haplopappus) acaulis

Yellow composites aren't for everyone, but I have developed a fondness for this mat forming daisy you can find across the intermountain region, and high onto the Sierra Nevada as well. Here at its Southeasternmost location.

Xylorhiza glabriuscula

If it LOOKS like an Aster, take heart! It USED to be one...now split like so many from that giant genus. It makes quite a show in early summer, but alas, ceases blooming when it gets hotter.

Eritrichium aretioides (nanum)

Now we've climbed up onto the Medicine Bow range, where albino forget-me-nots are not rare in the alpine tundra.

Trollius laxus v. albiflorus

Subalpine freshets throughout the Rockies invariably host masses of this

Trollius laxus v. albiflorus

Erythronium grandiflorum

Draba oligosperma

Pulsatilla patens

Dutchman dancing with Penstemon eriantherus

Penstemon eriantherus

Erigeron nematophyllus

From the top of Hoosier pass

The next big hike was on June 28 to Hoosier Pass, where these next set of pictures were taken...

Geum rossii on Hoosier Pass

Trifolium nanum and Paronychia pulvinata

Geum rossii

Draba sp

Smelowskya calycina

Quandary peak from Hoosier Pass

Frasera speciosa

A conference in Salida intervened between the images before these and those that followed: although we took several field trips as part of the North American Rock Garden Society conference, I seem not to have taken pictures (maybe a little preoccupied with hosting?), but we did finally take I-70 to Idaho Springs and Mt. Evans with a speaker from Kazakhstan who spoke at the conference.

Eritrichium aretioides

A strange form of the alpine forget-me-not with flowers varying from white to pale blue...

Eritrichium aretioides and Claytonia rosette

Saxifraga chrysantha (serpyllifolia)

Saxifraga rhomboidea

Vladimir Kolbinsev on Mt. Evans

Vladimir Kolbinsev and ME (not in that order)

Claytonia megarhiza and Primula angustifolia

Mountain goat kid checking us out

Hymenoxys (Rydbergia) grandiflora

Mertensia viridis and Trifolium dasycarpum

One of the most confusing and complex alpine genera is Mertensia: this species has been lumped under M. lanceolata which I don't buy...you'll see some other variations on this...