Bushwhacking for Flowers...

Hullo... that bee was snoozing pretty good and I got tired of waiting... we are off!

The wild roses and wild blackberries are blooming right now. Must make a note of the blackberries... they are beary yummy!

At last... a meadow! Let's go flower hunting...

Umm... the grass sure has grown a lot in the past few weeks...

This is why it's good to bring humans on your adventures... to carry you over the tricky bits!

We found more of the sea blush and monkey flower...

And another sign saying that this is a sensitive eco area and to keep tires and what not off the meadows.

Let's just say... there are quite a few tire marks here...

We'll tip-toe along the tread marks and see what we can find...

Hmmm... that's a different flower! It's a beary nice deep purple...

And looks kind of a like a delphinium from the garden...

And... it's a Menzies' Larkspur (a.k.a. Delphinium menziesii). Cool!

Hmm... this is a big old firepit in the middle of this eco sensitive meadow...

Why? This little bear is perplexed by human behaviour...

We are now bushwhacking through this strip to trees to find another meadow...

It's a bit of a slog but... almost through...

Hmmm... that looks like a ratty eagle feather.

Finally... a deer trail!

And some cool Miner's Lettuce... it's edible, you know.

See how the leaf is a complete circle around the stalk - really easy to ID...

And another meadow! Let's explore...

Err... the lid of a rubbermaid tote?

Do you think it fell from the sky?

And a bit of a burn spot... beary strange...

That would not be good if a fire started here...

So far, no luck in finding the Trefoil thingie...

Oh wait... what's that...

It IS a Trefoil... just not blooming yet!

Excellent... now it's to find a way out of this meadow... we are trying another circle hike and...

.... although the power lines are only about 50 feet that away.... the bush is... thick and prickly...

Time to regroup...

And while I was regrouping, I spotted...

... there... do you see it... amongst all the purple Common Camas? It's white!

It's a white Common Camas! They are quite rare so this is beary cool...

Apparently the Common Camas comes in pale purple and white as well as the regular purple... neat.

OK... this looks more promising...

It might be a deer trail but... it is better than the prickly thickets!

But... just in case... we brought snacks right? In case we get stuck or lost or... hmmm... no snacks. Sigh.

I think we are going to be OK though...

Hooray!!! We made it... 

I never thought I'd be so happy to see this boring stretch of old road.

But our hike isn't quite done yet... this moss looks like shag carpeting... hahhah!

Ooooh... and here there is some petrified wood in the conglomerate. Cool!

I wonder what type of tree it was? I know they have found 70 million year old palm trees here... maybe this is one too?

Cool... now we just have to hike back along the old road.

Remember that ditch along the one side of the road barricade? Well... it's to stop motorbikes and ATVs from ripping down the road and into the ecosensitive area but... the other side of the barricade looks like this. Sigh...

And... a post-hike treat!! A warmed up chocolate fudge brownie from Starbucks... mmmm....