After leaving Cold Sprints Campground in Routt National Forest we traveled to Vaughan Lake Campground.
Along the route we encountered a modern day cattle drive:
This is a through the windshield iPhone photo of one of the batches of cattle we drove by on our way to Vaughan Lake. There were cowboys and a very young cowgirl on horse back, loosely guiding the animals down the roadway. Mostly the cattle seemed to know where they were going. Occasionally, we saw a cowboy moving a wandering animal back onto the route. There are always a few independents in every herd!
We expected there to be many wildflowers in the Vaughan Lake camping area and we were not disappointed, although some were not yet in bloom, due to a late season following a very snowy winter.
There were many Columbines, my favorite Colorado wildflower, near our campsite. Consequently, I have many photographs of Columbines to share and I will devote another blog post entirely to Columbines.
I’ve tentatively identified the wildflower in the above image via an online wildflower site, but there is some uncertainty. If any reader can dispute this identification, please let me know.
I could not determine the identity of the above wildflower. It might by American Vetch.
There were numerous dandelions in the area. I recall picking these as a child and blowing on the seed pods, dispersing the seeds. This is a crop from a larger image, as are all of the wildflower photos posted here.
I think this is Silvery Lupine, but there seem to be a number of variations and hybrids of this flower, so I can’t be sure of this identification.
I was actually trying to get a shot of the orange bell like flower seen in the lower left of the above image; but I did not succeed in getting that flower in focus. However, I did note that this leaf with what appears to be a seed hanging onto its sail was in focus, so I cropped this portion of the image.
I should add that I was hand holding my camera with the big 80-400mm lens, so it was a bit difficult to maintain focus on the intended subject. Keep in mind that there was some wind motion in the flowers, a shallow depth of field in these shots and much unsteadiness of the camera and lens in my hands. Readers might note the high ISO values that I had to use to get sufficiently high shutter speeds to freeze the motion.
Here is the orange flower that I was trying to shoot in the previous photo. Here I managed to get the bottom bloom in focus.
And finally, another Fendler’s Waterleaf.
I will have more on this area in subsequent blogs. Until then,
Ken
Those silly cows! Don’t they know they are not to cross a double yellow line in the road?
Shooting wildflowers when there is a breeze is always a challenge, and I will definitely look forward to seeing more columbines as they are a favorite wildflower of mine. And who hasn’t blown the seeds of a dandelion into the air? One of the simple joys of childhood but I wonder in today’s world if kids still do that. I enjoyed all the photos!
Some of the cows just stood or walked in my lane, as if purposely challenging my vehicle for the right of way. A cowboy on horseback also occupied my lane for a considerable time as he chatted with someone in a vehicle, seemingly unconcerned about holding up traffic, which was quite light anyway. Fortunately, we had no real reason to hurry, other than the campsites being first come first serve and it was a busy time of the year for camping in the mountains. There were multiple campsites available, when we arrive at Vaughan Lake and I think we got the best one that was much removed from all the others, surrounded by wildflowers (especially Columbines), with quick and easy access to the lake. I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos.