Mustard is the earliest wildflower in the foothills.
Cockleburs are horrible. I think they are native to this area. They don’t mind getting drowned each year—it seems to be what causes them to thrive.
This is looking downstream toward the dam. The lake is very low, to make room for the winter rains and spring snowmelt, always a situation we hope takes place.
This isn’t a very pretty walk, but the blue of the river takes the edge off of all that grayish brown.
This is where we turned around. After studying it for awhile, we concluded that the lake is slowly filling up.
When heading back to the parking lot, it occurred to me that this could be a nice place to do a little plein air painting.
Stay tuned! I might do some painting here soon with my friend Krista who needs to do a few examples of plein air painting in order to qualify for a job. Like me she is a studio painter, but unlike me, she wants to expand into plein air. I have more experience at it than she does, so I can help her, we can hang out together, and maybe one day, I will actually improve my plein air skills in spite of my less than stellar attitude about it.
The peaks you see to the left of Alta Peak are on the Silliman Crest. Mt. Silliman is only about 100 feet shorter than Alta Peak. You can cross this range by taking the Twin Lakes Trail out of Lodgepole. Beautiful country!
Thank you, Laurie! I will do my best to remember this. I’ve heard of Silliman, but never knew quite where it was. And I won’t be able to recognize it the way I can always recognize Sawtooth and Alta Peak unless I see it from many angles, over and over and over. . .
I remember driving on that old road before the dam was built. I remember looking up at the road construction and marveling at how high up from the riverbed the road was. And now we know why it was built so high up!
Did you find any interesting objects? Watch? Rings? Hats? A solid gold statue?
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The peaks you see to the left of Alta Peak are on the Silliman Crest. Mt. Silliman is only about 100 feet shorter than Alta Peak. You can cross this range by taking the Twin Lakes Trail out of Lodgepole. Beautiful country!
Thank you, Laurie! I will do my best to remember this. I’ve heard of Silliman, but never knew quite where it was. And I won’t be able to recognize it the way I can always recognize Sawtooth and Alta Peak unless I see it from many angles, over and over and over. . .
I remember driving on that old road before the dam was built. I remember looking up at the road construction and marveling at how high up from the riverbed the road was. And now we know why it was built so high up!
Did you find any interesting objects? Watch? Rings? Hats? A solid gold statue?
Didn’t find anything except some muddy aluminum cans, and for once I remembered to take a bag with me.