Virginia and I drove to southern Utah last week. On the way, we decided to take a scenic drive up Parowan Canyon and pass through Brian Head and Cedar Breaks National Monument. Last year I wanted to photograph the wildflowers on the upper plateau, but we happened to be too late. There is an annual wildflower festival in July to celebrate the bloom. This year the festival starts July 7 and runs until July 22. So, even though the festival isn’t scheduled to begin until next weekend, we found the flowers at about peak bloom. I suppose the drought in the west and the warmer temperatures have led to an early bloom. I feel we were fortunate to come upon such a beautiful and colorful display early in the year. We hiked the Alpine Pond Trail in the early evening and never saw another visitor along the hike. It amazed me that the monument was so empty at such a beautiful time of year. Perhaps everyone was waiting for the actual festival in mid-July. I’m afraid the wildflowers will be largely faded and gone by then. Along the trail we saw wave upon wave of purple lupin, columbine, larkspur, paintbrush, and various unidentified yellow flowers. The late afternoon light enhanced the colors, softened the mood, and unfortunately, brought out the mosquitoes in the droves.

On our way home, we took the long road back. We drove to Fish Lake and then passed by Mt. Terrill on Forest Road 640. I read about the wildflowers at Mt. Terrill several years ago and I’ve wanted to see them ever since. With the beautiful bloom at Cedar Breaks, I figured it would also be a good time around Fish Lake. The pass by Mt. Terrill is at about 10,500 feet, the same as Cedar Breaks. We scored a great visit on our drive and saw gorgeous meadows waving in the breeze. We also figured out the basic area of Pando on this visit. Pando is a large grove of aspen trees that is composed of a single organism. Pando is the largest living organism on the planet. I'm not including photographs of Pando because it will be more beautiful in the fall when the quaking aspen leaves turn brilliant yellow. I'll save that post for a few months down the road. Now that I know where Pando is, I'll return when she is in her blazing autumn glory.

This is the beginning of our wildfire season in Utah. There were nine fires under suppression in the state this weekend. As luck would have it, the Willow Patch fire wasn’t far from the Fish Lake National Forest. As the sun set to the west, the lighting turned a deep sepia color and softened the highlights. I look forward to more trips into the hills in search of more beautiful wildfire gardens.