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August 10, 2009 Bloom Blog Signing Off Well, this has been a great flower season here is Plumas County, but now with summer winding down and fall looming before us, we are officially closing our bloom blog blog out. Thank you for all the fabulous submissions! Naturalist and Educational Specialist, Joe Willis has been an amazing contributor to our blog this year. We are really looking forward to our Awesome Autumn Blog that is going to begin as soon as those leaves begin to change, so please stay tuned!!! July 28, 2009
Afterthought: the close-up of Spanish clover, a
member of the pea family like lots of our roadside wild
peas, vetches and lupines, is a non-descript grayish weed
unless viewed up close. The blossoms are quite pretty but
only about 1/3" wide.
July 20, 2009 Bib and I had quite an adventure at Snake Lake over the weekend. Decided to circle the lake, clockwise. Along the western shore there were great patches of rein orchid, a tall white spike of flowers that is easily mistaken for death camas and other lilies, but viewed up close it is obvious that it's an orchid.
July 14, 2009
July 1, 2009
Saw lots of other flowers that have already appeared here this season like monk's hood, columbine, leopard lilies, buckwheat, and many more. Took over 100 photos and will definitely go back there again soon, although my next trip will probably be to the Lakes Basin.
June 30, 2009
The Tansy-leaf Suncup was also in that area; it's in the Evening Primrose family, as is Hooker's Evening Primrose which I found this morning along Lee Road near the fairgrounds.
June 29, 2009 Lots of good stuff blooming in and around Quincy. The
Prince's Pine is in the heath
Last, Diamond Clarkia,
Clarkia rhomboidea,
is an
June 26, 2009 These
pictures were taken by the Spanish Creek. I believe I have
the names right but feel free to correct them if not. Ladybug on Oxeye Daisy
Checker Mallow
Showy Milkweed
Yarrow and Sticky Cinquefoil
Dandelion
Crimson Columbine
Sandhill Crane and Baby
June 23, 2009
The Scarlet Gilia and Collomia are both in the phlox family and were found together at the roadside just beyond the camp. Sulfur pea is one of many species of wild pea and vetch now blooming.
And Spirea is blooming close to the Creek. It can be found all the way up to around 8000 later in the season. In the creek itself were some huge patches of Indian Rhubarb, past blooming, but the healthy leaves portend a great color show for the Leaf Peeper season next fall.
June 18, 2009
June 16, 2009:
Last, I find myself continuing to photograph the showy milkweed, even though I have around 50 shots at this point. It's a spectacular-looking flower and it attracts lots of interesting insects. Worth the wait. The several patches along Lee Road, if they survive the current construction project, are often occupied by Monarch butterflies and the spectacular red mikweed beetle. If you bring your telephoto lens and some patience, the dam at Snake Lake is a great place to wait for frogs, dragon flies, and damsel flies. But this is a wildflower blog, so I'll keep the bug photos to a minimum.
June 15, 2009
I saw a new lily for the first time, bog asphodel. Only one bloom on this one, but I plan to go back to look for more. Saw lots of yarrow (sunflower family) as usual, but what at first seemed like a mutant yellow flower turned out to be the beautiful crab spider.
A beautiful shrub in the heath family is the Labrador tea. Western azalea (a rhododendron) was also blooming and cast a wonderful aroma over the area.
The small but beautiful Macloskey's violet was
plentiful
June 9, 2009
I
June 4, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:
Along roadsides, in cracks in sidewalks, and in my front yard are pineapple weed. And, in the shady forest on the north-facing slopes of Claremont is the spotted coral root which is actually an orchid. In the same area last year I saw striped coral root. Very similar, except when viewed close up. One's flowers have spots and the others have stripes.
June 3, 2009 Dennis Olivariz of Grass Valley, wrote to us about his trip to Plumas County: "I just returned from a quick road trip through Plumas County. We took a quick side trip through Butterfly Valley and made an attempt to find the Botanical area. We found it and the Pitcher plant was in full bloom May 30, 2009. We also observed some other small plants that resembled Venus fly trap--very sticky--small--maybe 10 to 15 mm tall with multiple red and green heads. Take Bog Road which doubles back off the Butterfly Valley to Twain road. Be prepared for mosquito's around the bogs both above and below the road. Bog Road is graveled, the Butterfly Valley to Twain is dirt but passable."
We also saw some Blue Camus, Wild ginger and plenty of Dogwood.
Blue Camas Among The Pitcher Plant
Wild Ginger with Mushrooms
Dogwood
June 1, 2009
Last,
May 29, 2009 Wildflower watchers Connie Balsama of San Carlos and
friend Joel stopped into the Visitors Center today with
some glowing reports about their visit to Plumas County. May 28, 2009 Jim Wilcox, director for a stream restoration program in Plumas County, took these photos last week and shared them with us at The Plumas County Visitors Bureau. These photos were taken at Last Chance Creek
Red Clover Blue Camas
This is a mystery plant that needs identification.
Pink Star Onion
Chocolate Daisies and Lupine
Bitterbrush, Indian Paint Brush and Long Leaf Phlox at PC 101
Long Leaf Phlox at PC 101
Snow Plants on Humbug Road
May 22, 2009 Kathy Kobashi from San Jose was visiting her Keddie getaway this past weekend and shared her amazing photography with The Plumas County Visitors Bureau.
Indian Rhubarb at Spanish Creek
This is the carnivorous Pitcher Plant at
Butterfly Valley. These plants actually feed off
This Snow plant was photographed in Johnsville. These plants pop up after the snow melts and briefly make their appearance in higher elevations. If you come across a snow plant, you are very lucky. Be careful not to step on them, they are often hidden by winter debris, such as leaves, pine needles and pine cones.
May 21, 2009
May 21, 2009 I Today's photos are from a trip through and beyond Feather River Camp along Spanish Creek. There were abundant patches of showy phlox and balsam root, both of which have been pictured in earlier posts.
May 20, 2009
May 14, 2009
 Apple
blossoms on Hideaway Road in Greenville,
CA. A black and yellow decent sized bumble bee on
apple blossom.
I live at The Hideaway Motel in Greenville,
California and there is so much beauty just a few
steps from our property. I will send flower pics as
they are available.
Here are pictures of the Dogwoods as
Thank You,
Jeff Titcomb
May 12, 2009 Good Morning, Regards Mike Joe Willis Blogged regarding Mike's Post: On further thought, that onion might be the "volcanic
onion," formerly known as "dwarf onion." According to my
friend Rex Burris who has sent you photos from Table
Mountain, it would be
Allium cratericola, or Volcanic Onion. On one
website I found that is a newer name for "Dwarf Onion,"
Allium parvum. I
suspect most of your readers are not too concerned about the
tech ical details, but I know from e-mails I've received
there are some passionate amateur botanists among your
viewers, too. I personally find it a lot of fun pursuing
the details about groups of flowers with many
similar-looking species, especially in the Lily/Onion/Iris
category. Joe
May 11, 2009
May 11, 2009 Last year on Mother's Day, I sent photos from the Keddie
Cascades Trail. This year, we explored the foothills of
Claremont Mountain, especially in Boyle Ravine, and there's
lots happening and lots to anticipate.
May 7, 2009 Jim Wilcox Took these photos near Red Clover Creek and Antelope Rd.
This is an orange succulent that was photographed at Big Flat near The Cottonwood Creek Watershed.
Here are some fresh bear paw prints.
May 5, 2009 Mike Nellor Blogs: Happy Spring !!
May 4, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:
April 30, 2009 "On a cold, windy Tuesday, I didn't expect much in the way of wildflower viewing, but I got lucky. Several beautiful new blooms were spotted along Hwy 89 between the Greenville Y and the Taylorsville T. All I had to do was wait for the wind to stop or click my shutter at the ends of swings of the flowers."
April 28, 2009 Kathy Kobashi from San Jose Blogs: My niece and I took your suggestion and went to Caribou area off Hwy 70 and then Rock Creek. Rock Creek hike was a bit treacherous and slippery so we didn't go a long ways but did drive up the trail a bit and took lots of pictures.
The Canada Geese and chicks are from Stampfli Road
and you'll recognize the barn. Gotta run...thanks for your
help last week each time we popped in to get info.
Barn Entering West Quincy
Pastel Lupine
Sedum
Merganser at Rock Creek
April 27, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:
Cinquefoil
"Good news and bad news. The good is that spring has
definitely arrived in Quincy and other spots in the 3500'
range, not that we won't get a few more bouts of cold
weather. I explored the Old Highway that leads to
the Keddie Cascades Trail (about 4 miles north of Quincy
off Hwys 70 and 89), and found lots of buttercups,
several species of yellow violets, lots of shooting star and
cinquefoil, and two new arrivals."
Cinquefoil Leaf
Death Camus "I photographed the aforementioned on Saturday, April 18, but at the end of that day I slipped on a slippery rock near the Greenville Y and damaged my camera. I didn't discover that fact until I spent a day photographing the charter school's science fair and got mostly terrible shots. Then, as a test, I went back to the Old Highway and photographed two new arrivals for the season, the death camas, and the purple fritillary, both members of the lily family, and the camas being particularly toxic."
Purple Fritillary
Yellow Violet "As for the violets, I recommend the Peterson's
guide to the Pacific Coast Wildflowers to anyone who
wants to distinguish among the several species of yellow
violets around here. They have quite different leaves
even though the flowers look pretty much alike. The
cinquefoil, a member of the rose family, comes in many
species, 9 listed in the Peterson's guide. The most common
local one has leaves that resemble those of marijuana which
gives many people a start when they find it in their yards
or along the roadsides." "So, I need to send my camera away for repair and I'll
be using my backup, an older 4 MP workhorse. I hope I
remember how to use it.
April 27, 2009 Jim Wilcox, director for a stream restoration program in Plumas County, took these photos last week near Red Clover Valley between Beckwourth and Genesee.
Meadow Buttercup
Tansy Leaf Sun Cups and Meadow Buttercups
Yellow Bells
Violets
April 22, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:  "Flowers
are blooming in the 2500' to 3500' range,
including near creeks and in open fields around
Quincy and Greenville. The Pacific star
flower,
Trientalis
latifolia, is in the primrose family,
like the shooting star, and is abundant in shady
woods from Rock Creek all the way up the canyon
to our local creeks."
"Farewell-to-spring,
a species of Cla
"
April 20, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:
"Nearer the Greenville
April 17, 2009
He continues: A walk through most any open, grassy
area will reward the observant with pinks, a miniature
carnation relative, and blue-eyed grass, a kind of miniature
iris. In somewhat damper and more shaded areas the
chickweed is out in abundance. It's a carnation relative,
too, and can be found along the nature trail at Feather
River College in Quincy and under the shrubs around the
college library. Finally, the common monkey flower, the yellow
Mimulus, can be
found at the edges of creeks and around seeps from the
valley all the way up to Quincy.
April 15, 2009 Rex Buress Blogs: "Hello, Flower Blog. I took this bitterroot [Lewsii] on Table Mountain, April 13. The lovely pink blossoms are peaking now, and they pick the rocky places to start a community, somehow getting their bulb-like root into the crevices. The genus was discovered by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1803-06. I saw one of the species growing on a cinder cone in Craters of the Moon National Park. The parsnip-like bulb is sweet inside, bitter on the outside, and Indians prized them highly." Rex Burress, Oroville.
April 8, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:
April 7, 2009
April 6, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs: "The pictures I am sending today are of flowers found in damp and/or shady places, now blooming in the valley and up about half way through Feather River Canyon. Park in safe places by the little tributaries, especially from Belden to Storrie. Don't try to spot these flowers at 55 mph!! "
"The Douglas's meadow foam, Limnanthese douglasii is a variety (subspecies) of a flower that also occurs in yellow varieties and also white margins with yellow centers., the latter type sometimes known as poached eggplant. The one pictured can be found from the foothills up into the canyon where there are small meadows here and there."
April 2, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs:  "Having
fun while impatiently waiting for spring to run
its course in the Great Valley and fully arrive
in Quincy. Crawling around the river
rocks at the Greenville Y, I found lots
of buds, but no fully blooming flowers."
"However, did find lots of fence lizards and managed to mesmerize this one for a close-up. Also, caught a pacific tree frog and my son Ryan photographed it in my hand. This little fellow has been known for years as Hyla regilla, for its affinity with the many species of Hyla in the Southeast. However, recent studies indicate it is more closely related to the chorus frogs in the same region and has been renamed Pseudacris regilla."
"The wild mustard is a 3"-tall specimen which was in a field in American Valley close to the henbit. Like lots of "weeds," if left alone the mustard will grow 3 to 4 feet tall or taller before flowering. However, when mowed or otherwise threatened when very young, it will bloom when only an inch or two tall - apparently trying really hard to reproduce before impending doom. Dandelions are famous for this behavior, often blooming below the level of your lawnmower blades. Have fun with this spring preview." Joe
March 31, 2009 Rex Burress Blogs:
ODYSSEY OF THE ONION : Story With a Smell Rex Burress
Thin sprigs of leaves sprawl on the ground, giving rise to a cluster of pale pink blossoms hugging the meager soil as though they like the challenging location. It is the Volcanic Onion, Allium cratericola, of the Lily Family (Oswald), or Amaryllis Family (as stated in Peterson’s Pacific Coast Wildflowers.) There is no controversy though, as to the distinct onion odor of cratericola. It is a characteristic shared by a motley scent-crowd of about1250 allium species scattered world wide, with 52 species of wild onion in California (13 in Butte County; 96 in U.S.). The bulk of onion species are found in Asia, from where the horticultural hybrids you find at the food market were derived. Shallots, leeks, garlic, and chives are in the odoriferous order, too. The odor is a volatile sulfur gas called Allicin, mostly edible although repulsive to some. The little volcanic onion shares those adverse rocky ridges with the Bitterroot, (Lewisia rediviva), and it is interesting that both have bulbous bases they somehow wiggle into the rocky crevices. Bitterroot has one of the loveliest blossoms on Table Mountain, a cup-like, deep pink that opens in sunshine, with fattish- round leaves that also grow close to the ground. The parsnip-like Bitterroot bulb is sweet on the inside and was highly valued by Indians for food. It is in the Purslane Family and five species grow in Butte County. The Bitterroot was discovered by Meriwether Lewis of the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ironically, "Sow There!" columnist, Heather Hacking, of Enterprise-Record, Chico, wrote an article about the "wild allium onion" in her backyard when I had the Table Mountain wild onion idea. She described an onion with drooping white bell-like flowers with folded thin leaves. In research it was found to be Allium triquetrum, a prolific non-native naturalized in Oregon and California. As Heather said, it indeed becomes abundant, and if you pluck the "V" shaped leaves, you will be onion all day! It is sometimes called "Three-cornered Leek," and grows in our Oroville backyard, too. We had called it snow bells due to the dangling blossom that somewhat resembles the Styrax "snow-bells." Most Allium species stand taller in grassy meadows, with a cluster of terminal blossoms, much like an array of other Amaryllis plants including Hyacinth, Brodiaea, Dichelostemma, and Triteleia. Smashing a leaf is a sure way to tell if it’s in the onion family. You can sniff your way through nature as there is a large number of plants that have potent odors. Bay tree, Yerba Buena, Mugwort, Fennel are just a few, in addition to onion, that have a noticeable effect on the weak human nose. It must be a world of vivid scent for most wild animals with keen smelling senses. You wonder how a hound dog can track a raccoon through the maze of other strong odors on a trail a few hours old. "Lovers live by love and larks live by leeks." –John Heywood
March 30, 2009 Joe Willis Blogs: "We had a wonderful trip on Saturday, March 28. Table Mountain is peaking, and there were quite a crowd flying kites, stomping on the flowers, and muddying the creeks. The soil is already drying out, so while spring is ending there, it is beginning in the Feather River Canyon." Falls By Tobin Resort
Bear Creek Water Fall
Bleeding Heart
Monkey Flower
Currant
Indian Paintbrush
Forget-Me-Not
Fiddleneck
Poppy with Beetles
The Shooting Star
Tidy Tips
Wood Violet
March 24, 2009
"Here's a cute little harbinger of spring from
American Valley, off Lee Road. The Spring Whitlow Grass,
Draba verna,
is only 2 - 3" tall, and the flowers are about 1/8"
across, so tiny that when I walked 50' to my car to get my
camera, I had trouble finding the flowers on my way back.
Yet, up close they're very beautiful. Like so many with
four petals, they are in the mustard family, Cruciferae.
Enjoy, Joe
March 16, 2009 As the weather continues to brighten by the day, Joe Willis and his family have been engulfed in Spring Fever! Joe Blogs: "A trip to Table Mountain and the lower Feather River Canyon revealed some new blooms, but the season seems to be about 3 weeks behind last year. Only one red bud was seen in full flower on the way down, and the roadsides had lots of fiddleneck and wild radishes west of the county line. Not much bud tree buds and ferns in the canyon at this time."
Saxifrage Woodland Star
"The meadow scene is at Table Mountain and the light yellow is mostly goldfields and the yellow- orange is Frying Pan Poppies, the reddish-purple is Kellogg's Monkeyflower and there are some blue Lupine's."
Kellogg's Monkeyflower
"The Meadow Larkspur was in a deep canyon by a large waterfall about a mile west of Table Mountain parking lot. We will try this area again in about two weeks, and expect to see early flowers in the canyon within Plumas County by then. Meanwhile, if we don't get another snow, things are perking up in American Valley and people's yards in Quincy."
Meadow Larkspur
Fiddleneck
Harvest Broddea
March 11, 2009 While strolling through downtown Quincy, Joe Willis spied some more flowers peaking up. Joe Blogs: "I didn't find anything new today that's native or "wild" besides the willow. This is a species of Salix from which we get the word "acetlysalicilic acid" AKA aspirin, originally derived from willow bark. The fluffy buds are actually the flowers of the willow. The five crocuses are domesticated members of the iris family, Iridaceae. The genus is Crocus, and the word is also its common name. It feels a little like cheating when searching for wildflowers to photograph ornamentals in a garden, but when anxious for spring, I justify it. These would make a nice little collage if you're so inclined. They greet customers just outside Morning Thunder in Quincy. Enjoy, Joe"
Crocus, Iridacea, They pop out in many different colors.
Willow, Salix
March 10, 2009 Joe Willis, Education Specialist at Plumas Charter School, sent us the following blog with photos attached. Spring is almost here!! Joe Says: "I had ice on my windshield this morning and a thin layer of corn snow on the driveway. Nevertheless a quick walk around the building on Mill Creek Road yielded blooming flowers, defying last nights snow."
Yellow Woodsorrel - Oxalis
Pansy (Domestic Wild Violet) - Viola - Latin word "To Think" .
Dandelion- Loved and hated, very nutritious, etc., etc., is named after the leaf shape from the French "dent de lion" (lion's tooth).
Daffodil- Narcissus
Filaree, AKA Stork's Bill, is a member of the geranium family.
March 5, 2009 Rex Burress, a retired naturalist writes a
nature column for the
Oroville Mercury Register called The River Watcher.
Rex sends us a photo he took of a Lowland Shooting Star
along Cherokee Road. He also enclosed his latest column he
wrote concerning the Shooting Star:
Lowland Shooting Star- Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp patulum
March 1, 2009 RIVER WATCHER STALKING THE SHOOTING STARS Rex Burress
Rain had fallen, and by the last of February early wildflowers were growing in earnest in Feather River country. Among the early arrivals is the white shooting star, and I drove up on Table Mountain at Oroville to where a little patch grows every year on an embankment alongside the road. It is always comforting to see the first voyagers, and the shooting stars were in full bloom. Several dozen, barely a few inches high, were clustered together as if uniting to cautiously emerge into the potentially stormy open world above. Their delicate white petals were swept back like the tail end of a comet, black and yellow nose cone dangling downward, as if they had intended to rise high on the thin stalk, but sensing the cool weather had changed course, finding more security close to the ground. Or maybe they were trying to get back under the soil where there is safety! However, there was no reason to grow tall since no tall plants blocked their visibility, and even the grasses were barely started. The sight of the cheery little colony was uplifting, suggesting a new beginning, or the freshness of youth and the revival of life. Vernon Oswald’s "Plants of Butte County" field book calls them Dodecatheon clevelandii spp. patulum, the Lowland Shooting Star of the Primrose Family. One book calls them Padres Shooting Star of the Coast Ranges and says they have pinkish flowers, but those on Table Mountain are white. Have a lot of field guides! In the center of the cozy colony was one purple specimen, the color of the taller Henderson’s Shooting Star that will bloom later, but identical to the minute white neighbors in leaf and size. Botanists contend the two species hybridize, providing some more wonder, or confusion, for the aspiring nature student. Written in the genes of the wildflowers is the time to grow, and for the white shooting stars, that means early. They will be gone by the time lupine starts to bloom. Over two hundred Table Mountain species appear in wave after wave, as if they are assigned starting shoots, or given a chance to share the insect pollinators. When the surface water is used up, their reproduction completed, they wither in the sun, a sea of spent stems showering the ground with seeds for the future. The shooting star is actually a perennial, assured of a future by the root structure in the soil, but also able to spread by seed to extend their territory. Although anchored in the ground, plants can travel via the seed dispersal mode, and as John Muir said, they travel through the cosmos along with man. "They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"
"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size." –Gertrude S. Wister "I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one." –Edna St Vincent Millay
March 2, 2009 Quincy botany expert Joe Willis did some more wildflower photo shooting this weekend and sends these photos of early blooms in the foothills leading to the Feather River Canyon. Writes Joe: "The Dutchman's pipevine is in its own
family, but there are many different species around the
world, and there are many cultivated varieties. This one,
Aristolochia
californica, is native to California and the
flowers last a long time. Look along stream atop Table
Mountain or the various tributaries of Butte Creek and Chico
Creek, sometimes up to 4000'.
California Dutchman's Pipevine
The Buttercup is in the buttercup family and is
one of many species found in this area, sometimes hard to
distinguish. The generic name is
Ranunculus,
which has an interesting etymology. Try Googling it. Buttercup
Butter and Eggs is a fancy member of the
figwort family which includes popular items like Indian
paintbrush and the various monkey flowers.
Butter and Eggs
The Blue Dicks (A Lily)is being climbed by a Vetch, one of many species of wild pea found in the grassy foothills. Blue Dicks With Vetch and Blue Dicks (Bloom)
Buckbrush bloom is followed by soon by deer brush, Mahlah Mat (formerly called Squaw Carpet) and various other buckthorns. Buck Brush
The Lacepod is a member of the mustard family which includes the wild mustard and a variety of wild radishes now blooming at this time. The family also include watercress and many domestic vegetables found in the produce section. Lacepod
February 24, 2009 Well, all this snow sure hasn't affected early spring blooms at Table Mountain. Naturalist and Education Specialist at Plumas Charter School, Joe Willis, sent us some photo's he took this past weekend.
This is The Dwarf Monkey Flower and The California Poppy.
The Owl Clover.
The Shooting Star
The Wild Radish (In White and Purple)
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A
month ago I slipped on a rock and damaged my leg and my
camera. Last week it was an encounter with a rattlesnake.
This past Sunday, I got too close to a yellow-jacket nest
and got stung about 6 times before escaping the mob. So, as
we enter the hottest part of summer and the peak of
yellow-jacket season, I'd suggest that wildflower
aficionados stay on the trails or roadsides. Don't step in
places where you can't see the ground - like I did three
times recently with bad results. 
Today,
I had a great time by the ditches across from the Quincy
High tennis courts. Many types of thistles, which
along with the tansy, chicory and
bachelor's buttons are in the sunflower family,
or more recently called the aster family,
As
much as these thistles can be a nuisance when you're trying
to grow lettuce or tulips, they are quite beautiful. The
star thistle, which is driving lots of ranchers and
farmers nuts, is in the same genus as the bachelor's
buttons, 
The
"bug" on the chicory flower enclosed is a hover fly,
a bee mimic which doesn't bite or sting. They have taught
helicopter designers a lot about hovering. If you want to
do some safer wildflower watching and get a final taste of
spring, I'd suggest getting above 6000' on any of our 7000'+
mountains or in the Lakes Basin. Still lots of lilies
blooming, and monks hood, c
olumbine,
larkspur and buttercups. 
On
the north end of the lake where the water trickles in there
were great bogs filled with leopard lilies, blue camas, corn
lily, spirea, and goldenrod. There was also lots of smelly
black mud trying to suck our shoes off! Paradise for a
microbiologist. 
Then
came the pine forest along the eastern shore. While
bushwhacking through the dark pine forest, climbing over
windfalls and dodging thistles, Bib yelled "Stop!
Rattlesnake!" I stopped and asked, " Where?" She pointed,
and I was one step shy of stepping on a Western Rattler,
We
were relieved to pick up the trail again by the big beaver
hogan, and be able to see where we were putting our
footsteps for the rest of the hike. Lots of great
vegetation along the west shore - Cascara buckthorn with
lots of berries, dogwood, willows, cow parsnip,
cat-o-nine-tails, and much more. Great amount of insect
activity, too, for those with patience and/or telephotos
lenses. I've always preferred using the standard lens and
patience and getting really close to the insects or just
waiting for them to land on a flower I've focused on.
Exciting trip. It would be good to develop a trail along
the west shore though.
Following
a tip from Judy Buck, I drove from Quincy to Williams Loop,
on up to Argentine Peak, through Brady's Camp
to the Mt. Hough Road and from there descended to Quincy
Junction Road. The spectacular Blazing Star was on
the grade leading up to Williams Loop. 
On
the way up to Argentine I saw lots of Indian Paintbrush
and Pennyroyal, then the real show began around
Brady's Camp. Great meadows above 7,000' had lots of
Meadow Larkspur, Rein Orchid, White Lupine,
Corn Lily, Shasta Clover, and a great variety of
butterflies and beetles doing the pollinating. 
Along
the road from Argentine to Hough there were several great
patches of Snow Plant, and every little creek
crossing had lots of Leopard Lilies and Monk's
Hood. The road is mostly very smooth, and 4WD is never
needed. This is a highly recommended half-day, or bring a
lunch and picnic at Brady's Camp. Most of these flowers
should be around for several more weeks. Since I was at
7,000, most of the same flowers should be out in the
Lakes Basin and near the tops of other mountains like
Claremont Mountain, Dixie Mountain, and Mills
Peak, all of which have easily passable roads. 
My
first flower walk for July was along the Mills Creek
Trail along the east shore of Buck's Lake. A
great place for wildflowers as there are several dramatic
changes of habitat from wet, shady creek beds and their
surrounding swamps to open dry slopes. 
All
the photos I took today are labeled and the only whose ID
I'm not confident of is the bird, a spotted sandpiper.
I'm not a bird expert and would welcome a correction if
warranted. 
Got
to drive to the north county recently and photographed a few
new things. The Elk Thistle, a very low-lying one, was on
Hwy 36 about 2 miles west of the Clear Creek turnoff. 
The
White Stickseed was near the county line just west of Clear
Creek; it's in the borage family and a close relative of
Forget-Me-Nots. Finally, I can't get enough of the Showy
Milkweed - it not only smells like fresh peaches, but it
attracts a great variety of interesting insects. 
This
week I got a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar and a ladybug.
My favorite milkweed spots are along Lee Road where a lot of
interesting stuff will probably fall to the weed eaters in
time for High Sierra where the flower children will replace
the flowers.
family and is blooming in
the shady woods on north-facing slopes like Claremont
Mountain. 
Ninebark
is the correct name for a plant I sent last week and
tentatively named it Ocean Spray, but I was corrected
by a Bloom Blog watcher from Berkeley. Thanks! 
The
Indian Hemp I found at the roadside near Oakland
Feather River Camp while I was leading a small group on
a guided flower walk. It's the taller relative of spreading
dogbane, posted earlier, and both are close relatives of the
milkweeds. This one was in a group of 4' tall plants easily
confused, from a distance, with showy milkweed in the same
spot. 
Thyme-leaved
Speedwell is one of at least two five species of
I
was delighted to find Toadflax along Quincy
Junction Road. When I was kid back East, we used to
call this one Butter and Eggs, but in the Sierra that name
is given to a different plant, also posted here earlier.
It, too, is in the figwort family, along with Paintbrush and
Penstemon. 
elegant little flower, not as common as its relative,
Farewell to Spring, also a 
The
great New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra, once said, "You
can see a lot if you look." I found that to be true driving
the road to and through Oakland Camp on Saturday. While
driving along, the most obvious scenario was grasses and
some wildflower species turning brown and many species gone
to seed. However, each time I say any color at all besides
green, say a spot of yellow, blue or red, I'd stop and walk
around with my camera. 
In
an hour and a half, I photographed around 90 species of
flowers blooming that I would never have seen from the car.
Five samples are attached. The one ID I'm unsure of is
Ocean Spray. It's a prominent shrub with it's great flower
clusters attracting lots of butterflies, but I haven't
noticed it in years' past, so if anyone can confirm the ID,
that
would
be appreciated. 
Coming
toward Quincy from the Greenville Y, I saw a train coming
from the canyon, so I decided to stop by the Keddie Y and
wait for it. Nice place to look at wildflowers in the
"roadside weeds" category while waiting for trains. 
So,
I photographed the vetch, a type of wild pea, pennyroyal, a
mint, and spotted coral root, an orchid, then I got a lot of
shots of the very long train - I'd say close to two miles
long pulled by five engines. 
Then,
when the train was out of sight, a vehicle came skidding
into the gravelly turn-out and camera laden people
carelessly crossed the road shouting "did we miss it?"
Turns out they had consulted RR websites announcing
scheduled train trips through this area, which lots of RR
buffs do. But, their timing was off. The train was gone.
While this is a very interesting spot to photograph trains
and wildflowers, please be warned - it's by a blind curve
and big trucks travelling toward Quincy cannot safely stop
for you. I recommend crossing the road a couple hundred
yards toward Keddie, then staying behind the guardrails for
your entire photo excursion. It was fun, though. The train
buffs were headed east, but the train was headed north.
There will be another time! 
Sunday:
Hard to top Saturday's trip to the botanical garden, but
Snake Lake never disappoints. While mountain dogwood has
faded in most areas, the American dogwood, a smaller
shrub, is still in full bloom and plentiful around the dam. 
Bachelor's
button, a beautiful roadside weed, grows particularly
big in the wet areas around the lake. Same genus as the
less popular Star thistle. 
The
trail along the west shore of the lake has lots of cow
parsnip blooming. These are easily confused with the
poison hemlock and other umbelliferous plants, although the
latter are usually found in more open, drier areas. Both
can be found along the nature trail at FRC. 
The
columbine aren't as plentiful as last year, but are blooming
and attracting hummingbirds. The Sierra onion were
plentiful but camouflaged in the underbrush. Found them
first by aroma. 
There
were several patches of Dogbane along the road to the
lake. It's a milkweed relative. There are some some huge
patches of it in the ditch behind Plumas Cafe. Blossoms
quite beautiful when you catch them at the right time. 
Had
a great walk through the "botanical garden" Saturday and met
a nice couple who came down from Vancouver to see our famous
pitcher plants. The leaves of the pitcher plants are
wilting and browning, but there are still plenty of
beautiful
blooms.
Another category of carnivorous plants the area is
known for are the sundews. We saw a number of insects
get trapped in just a few minutes.
Another
beautiful lily that was abundant Saturday is the death
camas.
but
often hidden under the azaleas and other shrubs. Last, the
yellow-eyed grass, a member of the Iris family. A wonderful
garden, but wear waterproof shoes.
Just
got my camera back from the repair shop Saturday and have
had two wonderful days of photography. 
The
Bush Monkeyflower, Self-heal, and Spice Bush
were seen in the Feather River Canyon in a shady spot about
a mile west of the Rest Area below the tunnels. 
The
Thimbleberry, Red Columbine, and Lemmon's
Wild Ginger were found in Boyle Ravine above
Quincy Elementary. The Sapsucker visits my front yard on
Boyle Street daily. 
've
tried for three years to get good pictures of the Wild
Ginger. It's hard because the large leaves totally
cover the flowers which grow close to the ground and hang
downward. One has to pick up one leaf at a time in the
right season in order to spot the flowers. Then one has to
more or less lie down in the mud to get good photos. That
is, if you want the photos to be "natural." 
To
illustrate this, I've included a shot of a patch of leaves
where no flowers are visible, and a close-up of a flower. 
To
get the latter, I had to hold some leaves out of the way.
The recent rains are going to prolong the wildflower season
at our elevation. Exciting. Joe
What
a difference a few days of alternating sun and rain makes.
Along Hwys 70 and 89 from Quincy to Greenville, the thistles
are blooming. Several species hard to distinguish,
especially at 55 mph! 
Also,
the showy milkweed, not blooming in the photo o
n
Monday's posting, are now blooming and attracting monarch
butterflies. 
Dennis's
account inspired us at The Plumas County Visitors Bureau to
get out to Butterfly Valley and get a glimpse at this
gorgeous and rare botanical garden. As we drove up the
Butterfly Valley Road, the first flower we saw was a Wild
Iris. There was a whole hillside of them blooming.
The
weather had just finished with a quick downpour, so
everything in the area was fresh and the flowers seemed
vibrant and happy as the sun began to peek out from behind
the clouds. The next flowers that we came across were the
wild roses. The were in full bloom and smelled extremely
fragrant.
We
saw some kind of Azalea that was white, we are not sure of
the exact ID of these flowers. 
Then
there were the Carnivorous Pitcher Plants, in full bloom.
They were flourishing and there were several different
patches of them. We have never seen them in such abundance,
usually
when
we get out there it is a little too early or a little too
late. We really got lucky to catch these plants in all their
glory. 
A
wonderful wildflower season is under way at our elevation,
3,500' plus or minus a few hundred. My wife and I hiked up
on Claremont Mountain via Boyle Ravine and saw lots of
Pretty Face, a lily. These will be blooming at higher
elevations in the coming weeks. I found them in the Lakes
Basin in July last summer. 
Daisies
are plentiful in fields and roadsides all around our
area. I photographed these by the school in East Quincy,
but see lots along 89 on the way to Greenville. 
Yellow
salsify, also known as goat's beard, is blooming in lots
of places around Quincy. This one is at the edge of my
driveway, but there are lots in the fields around the Plumas
Animal Shelter. 
Two
that are easily confused unless you take a close look are
chicory (right) and bachelors buttons (below).
Both are pretty and plentiful along 70 and 89 at our
elevation. 
Just
north of the Greenville Y is a turnoff my son and I
call "the milkweed place." Three species are found there
within a few hundred yards of each other. 
The
showy milkweed is not quite blooming, but even the
buds are beautiful and the milkweed beetles they attract are
especially beautiful. 
The
purple, or heartleaf milkweed is in full bloom here
and also along the road to Oakland's Feather River Camp. 
in
the rocks alongside Indian Creek one can find the
narrow-leaf milkweed, this one being visited by a
beautiful butterfly. 
Last,
a beautiful member of the morning glory family,
called bindweed by those who don't like it and
orchard morning glory by those who do. This one will be
with us all summer and from the lower canyon to at least
7000 feet. Along 89 between the Greenville Y and the
Taylorsville T are great stands of deerbrush, some totally
covered with buches of white flowers, and lots of blue
lupines along the roadside. These have been pictured here
before, but they are particularly plentiful at this time. I
see more and more nice photos are being sent in by visitors
to the county. Great tradition, and a great way to meet
fellow nature photographers. 
The
couple has been exploring all over Plumas County looking at
wildflowers and waterfalls, and says the hike off Hwy. 70 in
the Feather River Canyon mentioned on our
insects.
The famous botanical area in Butterfly Valley
is home to these rare and unusual plants. You can only catch
a glimpse of their beauty during a short window in the
spring.
Toni
Morris from Eastern Plumas County shares with us some photos
she took of the Dogwoods along Hwys 89 & 70
between Taylorsville and Quincy. They are
giving us a brilliant showing this year.
n
my previous message, I forgot to mention the yellow
lupine, although I included a photo. They weren't
abundant along La Porte Road, but quite striking
where they occurred along little creeks.
There
were also lots of heart leaf milkweed with purple
buds about ready to bloom. I photograph them next
weekend. They should be in full loom by then. Already
quite noticeable on the paved road leading to the camp. As
for the photos included here: the wild irises are
abundant, but a pale yellowish white and not easy to spot in
the tall grass. 
The
fritillary are in full bloom and it seems to me a
brighter red than those photographed in the canyon and on
Claremont Mountain earlier. 
The
Indian rhubarb and in full bloom while only their
flower-bearing stems protrude out of the creek. Leaves will
come later, and put on a colorful show in the fall. 
The
sulfur pea is one the many wild peas and vetches
found in this area. Close relatives of the lupines and
clovers. 
Last,
one of the many yellow daisy-like flowers in the largest of
all flower families, the sunflower family, here is the
Bigelow sneezeweed. There are so many species of
similar looking flowers of this type that I just lazily call
many of them yellow daisies. This area, and the trail
across the river from the camp, AKA Keddie Cascades Trail,
will be great for at least another month as more and more
species bloom while most of those blooming now will pass.
Almost forgot, there are some great patches of showy phlox
in this area, too. 
Great
drive out La Porte Road on Friday as far as the
Middle Fork of the Feather River. First, stopped by the
Plumas County Courthouse to photograph the great
Mountain Ash which is in full bloom and also puts on a
great show in the fall, first with bright red berries while
the leaves are still green, then the leaves turn bright
red. 
the
larger patches so dense that they look painted onto the
meadow. A couple of miles south of Thompson Valley
begins the amazing abundance of red larkspur. They
are abundant on the dry dirt embankments on the right over a
distance of a couple of miles. The most I've ever seen in
one location. 
There's
another flower I'm unfamiliar with that is abundant among
the larkspurs. It has a delicate light purple flower and
pinnately lobed leaves. Does someone out there recognize
it? 
Then,
by the long meadow closer to the Feather River, we
saw a few snow plants. This is a pretty low
elevation for them. They're still under the snow in most
parts of their range. A delightful drive, punctuated by the
loss of my son's jacket and headphones near the river. We
drove out the next afternoon and found that some good
Samaritan had mounted it on a roadside reflector so we
easily spotted it. Thank you! On the way back, we checked
out the dirt road the follows Big Thompson Creek up
toward Claremont Mountain. There were dogwoods
blooming and lots of yellow violets. 
you
are going up to Round Valley Lake outside
of Greenville, California.
Quincy
is crazy with lilacs and some neighborhood still have
blooming forsythia. Thought your viewers might like
to know that both of these plants are in the olive family.
Close inspection of the flowers shows why, but what an
amazing diversity of flower color and aroma! 
Boyle
Ravine is full of Leopard Lilies, but they are not
yet blooming. I thought I'd sent a photo of a young plant,
about a foot tall, not yet even budding, as well as a photo
of a bloom from this same area taken last june. We saw so
many young plants today, that it's going to be exceptional
when they bloom in a month or so. 
Already
blooming in this area are lots of Red Larkspur or
Delphinium. That was the red flower in the last photo of
Jim Wilcox's recent entry to the Blog. I believe his two
yellow ones were varieties of Balsamroot. 
The
Plantain is an underappreciated weed. Easily dismissed
when in a field of grass and other weeds,, but quite an
interesting flower when viewed close up. Also, the leaves,
with their rubbery veins, are great food for your pet
rabbit. That's how I discovered them as a child. When my
pet rabbit escaped, he would stop short when he found a
patch of plantain and was so engrossed in eating them, he
was easy to catch. 
Finally,
stickseed, a beautiful little blue flower resembling
its close relative, the Forget-me-not. These were in my
front yard, but there is great crop of them along-side the
walkway leading from the FRC parking lot up to the main
campus. They are in the borage family, along with Fiddleneck,
sent in earlier. That's also a great place to observe the
stages of the horsetail, 
First,
both False Solomon's Seal and Starry Solomon's Seal
have abundant, perfect, shiny leaves all along the trail's
edge, but not too many blooming yet. Easy to tell apart
when they're blooming, but difficult before. 
Next,
my neighbor said, "This is a bad year for dandelions," and I
replied, "Seems to me it's a very good year!" That's
because I love dandelions. They're very nutritious, make
good wine, and are beautiful. They're also a great example
of adaptation. We have been seeing some growing in the
shade reaching 3' in height before blooming. Then others,
trying to survive their surrounding lawns being mowed, that
"learn" to bloom when only a couple of inches in height, and
many are missed by the blades of the lawnmower. I admire
that trait. Plus, today's kids addicted to the electronic
age still benefit from the experience of making necklaces
out of the hollow stems and blowing on the spheres of
feathery seeds. If only more of them would discover the
nutritional value! The trails in Boyle Ravine are crazy
with dandelions this year.
The
California Dogwood are blooming there, too. And there
are many more yet to bloom as well as the little Mountain
Dogwoods. 
Blue-eyed
Mary that one could walk right over without noticing.
It's a tiny member of the snapdragon family whose flowers
are only 1/4" wide and the plants are seldom over 6" in
height. Very pretty when viewed close up. 
Most
of the apple trees in the neighborhood are in full
bloom, and a close look reveals that they are members of the
rose family, along with plums, cherries, and other fruit
trees also blooming in the neighborhood. 
Last,
for this submission, are the Birdsfoot Buttercup.
"Here
are three new wildflowers and two domesticated ones from my
front yard. The sulfur-flowered pea is growing on
sandy "beaches" where Indian Creek joins
Spanish Creek at the Y. " 
"Oregon
grape is blooming like crazy in the forest as well as in
many peoples' yards, and Mahala mat, formerly known
as squaw carpet, is blooming at around 4000' on Mt. Hough.
It's in the buckthorn family along with buck brush, deer
brush, snow brush and tobacco brush, all in the genus
aid
the first thing that amazed her when she first came to the
Sierra was the bluest skies she'd ever seen."
Tulips are so common in peoples' yards they're almost
a gardening cliche, but I saw these back-lit at an
interesting angle while on the ground playing with my cats.
Had to share it.
"The
showy phlox, even showier than many of its
domesticated relatives, was spotted near Indian Falls
at a really unsafe place to stop. However, I really needed
to share this with you". 
"After
finding a safe place to park and hiking back to the phlox, I
also found a species of locoweed, a kind of wild
pea. It's of the genus
"Also
in that same area were lots of mountain dandelions, also
called spear-leaved agoseris,
"The
blue lupines are common everywhere from the valley to
4000' at this time. According to the books, there are from
200 to 600 species of 
"Thistles,
"Balsam
root, 
"In
this same area there are hundreds of Pacific star flowers
blooming, and pictures of these were posted with my Rock
Creek report a couple of weeks ago. Last, a really
exciting find near the Greenville Y was what my kids
and I called a "natural bonsai" Douglas-fir. Due to
the limited soil in the rocky cracks, and therefore limited
moisture, too, this Douglas-fir at a height of only about 2
feet was fully mature and boasted a half dozen mature female
cones and dozens of male ones. Watch out for the slippery
rocks if you go looking for this. I fell here and damaged
my camera and a few bones last week while photographing rock
cress.
Lupine
Kellogg's Monkey Flower
Indian
Paintbrush
rkia
(there are many), is a beauty in the evening
primrose family. I photographed this one on the
community nature trail by the college."
"Pineappleweed,
the nemesis of people who prefer lawns and
pristine sidewalks, is one of my favorites.
Sometimes called chamomile, it's
Blue-eyed
grass resembles a miniature iris and is in
the iris family, or sometimes is placed in the
lily family. Until it blooms, it is hard to
spot in grassy fields. Even when blooming, it
can be hard to spot as the flowers are only
about 1/2 inch across. It's called
"Finally,
one of my favorite parts of spring is the
blooming of the many broadleaf trees. They are
all flowering plants, which isn't so obvious
during the summer and fall, but during spring
the big-leaf maple,
"I
hiked up to the falls on Bear Creek and saw a few new
things. This time I scrambled u
p
the slope from where the creek crosses the highway, about a
half mile west of the rest area. There were many pairs of
butterflies mating. They sat so still on various
grasses and sedges that at first they looked like flowers.
Then I discovered a new (to me) kind of larkspur, Delphinium
hanseni. The flowers are nearly all white although, some
are tinged with shades of blue, pink and violet."
"They
provided great hiding for the white crab spiders that
were also abundant. There was also lots of Wild Mustard
and and Indian Paintbrush up there as well as
lots of sticky currant along the creek."
"At
the west entrance of Elephant Tunnel, a popular spot
with rock climbers, I saw that many drill bit holes from
where they dynamited here were occupied with tiny
wildflowers, mostly the common Monkey Flower. It
would be great to have this whole section of rock as a
planter, although I doubt I could get away with removing
it." 
"From
the tunnels all the way up to Twain, there were lots
of western wall flower, a member of the mustard
family, whic
h
resembles the mustard except the flowers are quite a bit
larger and more orange in color. There were a bunch of
red larkspur along the highway, difficult to distinguish
from paintbrush at 55 MPH, so by all means get out and walk
around where it's safe. Just west of Twain were really good
patches of scarlett fritillary and wild carnation."
"Up
on Rock Creek, above HWY 70, there's a nice
precarious trail along the rushing cascades where there's
beautiful mosses, ferns, and several species of saxifrage
growing out of the cracks in the granite. There are also a
few apple trees growing by the creek. We saw a green racer
and lots of blue belly lizards, the main food for this sna
ke."
Y
and on Old Hwy that leads to the Keddie Cascades,
we saw lots of rock cress and pine violets, and some
of the most bountiful shooting stars I've ever seen-
10 or more blossoms per stalk."
Spring
is moving rapidly up the Feather River Canyon toward
Quincy, according to local wildflower enthusiast and
educator Joe Willis. He says the redbud are
particularly intense around the Storrie and Pulga areas (at
right.) You'll also see lupine, Indian paintbrush and
California poppies in these areas. Another noticeable
newcomer visible from the car is red larkspur, or
"Had
a pretty good day of discovering flowers- before what looks
like a week of rain. The Blue-eyed Mary, Collinsia,
is in the snap dragon family, like the Indian Paintbrush and
several other photos I have sent earlier. These flowers are
1/4" wide, so you could walk through a patch of them without
noticing. This is a delight for people, who, like me, enjoy
crawling around on the ground. This patch was on HWY 89,
about 4 miles north of the Greenville Y."
"There
are many species of Collinsia, I am not sure which one this
is. I would guess C.parviflora. There are also several types
of Miner's lettuce. The ones in the lower canyon and
on Table Mountain can be huge with the circular leaves often
exceeding 6" in diameter. This one was at the Greenville
Y, across the weigh station, and is a miniature variety.
It is in the purslane family, portulacacea, and is named
claytonia parviflora parviflora , the latter word
indicating the sub species.
"The
Rock Cress, a member of the mustard family,
Brassicaceae, is out in profusion on all tha
t
great outcropping of vertical rock strata on the north side
of the Y. This one is a species of Arabis, and may be
the Elegant Rock Cress. I might have to wait for the
seeds to identify it for sure."
"The
violet is out in abundance on the Community Nature
Trail at FRC. It's Viola Douglasii. Note the
fancy leaves. The wood violet I sent in earlier had
heart-shaped leaves and is a different species, even though
the flowers look nearly identical. Just think, if these had
been names by the Russians or Spaniards on our west coast
before Linnaeus discovered them back east, they might now be
called Yellows!"
"The
manzanitas look prettier the closer you get. There
are many species. This one is Greenleaf Manzanita,
Jim
Wilcox, director for a stream restoration program in Plumas
County, got these photos of Snake Root last week near
Last Chance Creek in Taylorsville. 
"The
yellow wood sorrel has leaves similar to clover, but
it is a different family. Latin name is Oxalis stricta."
"The
Kumlienia hystricula was photographed near Bush
Creek. Interestingly this new latin name is associated
with the common name "false waterfall buttercup."
When it was previously named Ranunculus hystricula
(Ranunculus is the latin name for most buttercups), it was
known by the common name "waterfall buttercup". Like
most buttercups, the seeds have burrs, so if you miss the
blooming season, you may discover evidence of this plant
stuck to your pants and socks."
"The
reddish flower is called "henbit deathnettle"
What a name!! It's in the mint family (check
the sq
uare
stem and bilaterally symmetical flower),
traditionally Labiatae, but more recently
named Lamiaceae. I invite the reader to
research the etymologies of these names. Very
interesting." 
In
the basaltic volcanic rubble of Table Mountain above
Oroville, out in the famous flower fields of the exposed
mesa, there is a pretty little plant that squeezes out of
thin soil in rocky outcrops like a daring adventurer going
"where no man has gone before." (Star Trek)
"First
The Waterfalls. The one by Tobin enters the Feather River
from the North Side. This is Jackass Creek, and there is
safe parking at Tobin Resort."
"The
tremendous waterfall on Bear Creek is 10 minute hike up a
gated road across from the rest area downstream from the
tunnels. There are wildflowers blooming along the road to
the falls, and at the falls the Alder, Maple, Willows and
Oaks were budding and blooming. Bleeding Heart and
various Buttercup species were blooming on the wet
hillside across from Buck's Creek Powerhouse."
"The
Monkey Flower and Currant were a short
distance up the road by Rock Creek, north side of the
highway. By the first sharp bend in the road there is a
trail to the beautiful cascades and lots of flowers
blooming. Safe parking, too. Please don't crawl through the
canyon at 25 MPH. I saw too many close calls Saturday as the
55 MPH folks nearly rear ended the scenery watchers. Use
turnouts!!"
"The
scenic photo is by the parking lot by Table Mountain.
The several parking lots were overflowing, and there were
mobs everywhere. Next weekend on the 4th, Oroville is having
its spring wildflower festival. Recommendation: Skip the
crowds at Table Mountain and drive up the canyon to Plumas
County. As you climb out of the valley on HWY 70, there are
great fields of poppies and lupines and many safe places to
park. As you drive past Jarbo Gap, you no longer see huge
fields of flowers, but virtually every turnoff has little
creeks with flowers best seen on foot. The Indian
Paintbrush
and
Forget-Me-Not were on the dirt road leading up to
Bear Creek falls. The Fiddleneck and Poppies
were at the roadside about a mile east of Jarbo Gap.
"
" The Saxifrage and the Woodland Star (also a
saxifrage)
are in the same family as our Indian Rhubarb." 
