Rocky Mountain Wildflowers

When I was a young boy, I remember driving up Saint Charles Canyon with my family. This was back before the road was paved so entering the canyon on a dirt road made it seem even more wild. I was just developing my love for the outdoors, and in particular, my love for canyons with clear, cold trout streams.


On one trip up the canyon, dad stopped the car and pointed out to my mom a group of wildflowers growing on the side hill. He called it Indian Paintbrush. I remember looking at the plants and admiring the bright orange color. I was very young, and I wondered if the Indians actually used it to paint things. This was my first experience with  wildflowers and the Indian Paintbrush became my favorite.


In recent years, I have learned a somewhat disturbing fact about the paintbrush. It is a semiparasite. It likes to grow near another plant and sends it roots down until they touch the roots of another plant. The paintbrush roots will penetrate into the roots of the other plant and steal some of its food. Throughout time, they have become so used to doing this that most paintbrush plants cannot survive on their own. As I hike through the woods, I now look at the paintbrush plants and have noticed that they always seem to grow near other host plants, sometimes right in a group of other wildflowers.


This year as me and my wife have hiked, we have taken a real notice of the wildflowers. We are not experts but we are slowly learning some of the plants. Mostly, we just like to look at them for the aesthetic value. Hillsides change from yellow, to blue, to purple with areas of white, orange, pink, and red blended in. The color is so strategically placed that it's easy to believe that a master artist has been at work.


On our last hike, I pointed out to my wife how showy some of the wildflowers are. Their colors really stick out. The bold blue, bright yellow, red and orange, dark purple, pure white, and pastel pink grab at the eye and fight for our attention. As we discussed this showiness, I noticed another plant that caught my eye. It pulled me in because it was a fairly tall plant--maybe about eighteen inches to two feet tall. From a distance it stood out but it was a drab color. I walked up to one to inspect it closer. I was amazed to see some small blooms. They were pretty in a soft way. I called my wife over to show her the delicate flowers. They were a pale greenish-white with small dots or flecks of purple on the outside edge of the petals. Though they didn't stand out from a distance, their beauty is there for those who take a closer look. I mentioned to my wife that I was going to name the plant the "shy" flower because it didn't jump out with color to get our attention--we only noticed it because of its height.


We talked about the shy flower on the way home. It intrigued me. I wondered why all the other wildflowers stood out with amazing color, and the shy flower's beauty was not noticeable until we got up close and really looked at it.


The day after our hike we decided to go to Red Butte Garden. As we walked up the stairs of the visitor's center to make our way out to the gardens my eyes were drawn to a display of framed pictures on the wall. There before our eyes was an enlarged photograph of the "shy" flower. I turned with excitement to my wife and asked her what the chances of the "shy" flowers picture being on the wall? I hurriedly walked over and read the name on the display: Green Gentian.


Since learning the "shy" flower's name I have done some internet searches, found it in my field guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers book, and discovered some amazing things. The Green Gentian often has the term "showy" in front of it's name. It is also known as the monument plant or Elkweed. I'm sure the showy term comes from its height as it can grow as tall as 5 or 6 feet. We never saw any of them that tall. Most of them were two feet or smaller. I found out that Green Gentian is a monocarpic plant which means it can live 20 to 80 years but will produce flowers only once and then die. Wow! A plant that at first glance stands out because it is taller than most of the other wildflowers, yet is drab looking so you're never really drawn to it. But if you get close to it, you notice it does have a flower that is beautiful. Then to realize that because it does have a bloom, it will die.


I'm glad I took the time to notice and to learn. I think there is a great lesson in the Green Gentian's life. Is there a metaphor here? Can we draw some comparisons between people and wildflowers?
I'll let your pondering and imaginations take you where it will.

CECRET LAKE AND SUNSET PEAK HIKE

Hiking toward Cecret Lake near Alta.

Yellow wildflowers growing on rock

Wildflowers along the trail as we hiked out.

Little Pot Gut.

Looking toward Heber Valley from the top of Sunset Peak.

Looking down at the Brighton Lakes: Mary, Martha, and Catherine.

Looking South from Sunset Peak. Mount Timpanogos in the distance.

Northwest view from Sunset Peak.

A friendly Chipmunk.

Wildflowers growing from a crack in the rock.

Native Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Utah's State Fish).

Doing Hard Things in Life

I participated in a youth trek to simulate a few days on the trails the Mormon pioneers used coming to the Salt Lake Valley. I was the captain of five families. It was pretty tough. We traveled over nine miles each of the first two days and finished up with five miles the last day--pushing and pulling a handcart. I learned so much about myself, about others, about pioneer history, and about doing hard things in life. It is inevitable that we will face hard things in life. When I find the time I will post more of this great experience.

Check out Troutseeker for the latest fly fishing adventure.

http://www.troutseeker.blogspot.com/


Latest fly fishing adventure.

Anemia

I have always been fascinated with the Anasazi and all Native American cultures in the southwest. I took a couple of anthropology classes in college, but most of my study and reading has been on my own. The landscape there is so beautiful and mysterious. I love the open areas, the expanse of large valleys, the vistas, the dryness and the color. I love to watch birds of prey float on the thermals circling the landscape.


A few years ago, I began to read the writings of Craig Childs. His writing interests me, but I get the feeling that some of his adventures and stories are exaggerated. Of course, I have no way of knowing that, it's just a feeling. Still, I have learned that fiction or partial fiction is good. Is it real if it happens in the writer's mind? Whether real or not it did happen.


This is my poem about the people who inhabited part of the southwest--maybe those around Chaco Canyon.
















Anemia

Chert, notched and chipped
holds its edge for one-thousand years,
lays on ground churned by wind and water.
Its story whispered on hot thermals
that carry vulture wings high above mesas
where signal fire smoke sought the moon.

Summer solstice light
slides along its flaked
sides, the workmanship
of ancient hunters
who had to settle for the gold
maize of civilization.

Blown dust reveals maddened minds,
body cavity cages with arrowheads inside,
bones boiled and cracked.
Human muscle protein
myoglobin residue on the inside of pots,
and in human feces laying next
to smashed skulls.

Utah House Bill 37 Compromise for Stream Access

I remember fishing just about every creek, stream, and river in northern Utah when I was growing up. As long as I stayed on the trails or waded the water, it seemed like everyone was happy. I remember landowners coming out with a smile on their faces asking me if I'd caught anything and then suggesting holes to try. People were just friendlier then.




Now, it seems like everyone just wants to complain, treat others disrespectfully, and selfishly not share. I guess we have really become a materialistic society.




In Utah there is a battle going on as to who owns the water. The state constitution gives that right to the citizens. Within the past few years the rights of the citizens to recreate on the water as long as no damage or harm or laws were broken was verified by the Utah supreme court in a 5-0 ruling. Two years ago (2012) the Utah legislature passed a law that overturned the supreme court ruling and allowed private interest to basically lock up most of Utah's creeks, streams, and rivers from fishing, kayaking, floating, and other recreational pursuits.




The management of the fish and wildlife in these streams is funded by tax payer dollars, and fees for hunting and fishing licenses, as well as generous donations from sporting and recreation people of Utah.




I feel the public has a right to recreate on our public water. I am not advocating trespassing, polluting, litter, or vandalism--all which are against the law. I believe those who participate in this behavior should be prosecuted.



There is a way to access our rivers and streams through public easements which have always existed. Once the water is accessed, it is the responsibility of the recreationist  to obey laws. This means they should stay in the water or below the ordinary high water mark of the river or stream. They do not have the right to access through private property or exit through the same. They must not vandalize, harass, trash, or abuse the land or water in any way. This law has been working in Idaho for a few decades. It is possible. Idaho recognizes the amount of revenue that comes into its state by water recreationists. Not to mention the value that comes to individuals and families that have the opportunity to play together outdoors.




This year (2014) a bill HB37 is in the works that is a compromise to the HB141 bill passed two years ago which locked up our rivers and streams. If passed it will allow recreationists the same opportunity that exists in Idaho--a very workable solution which should benefit landowners and recreationists.


http://utahstreamaccess.org/usac-wp/




Click on the above link to find out what you can do to help Utah remain a destination state for outdoor recreation and to allow it's visitors and citizens the access to their public water.