We continue to enjoy seeing wildflowers on our hikes in northern Arizona–although the extended dry period has reduced the numbers. Recently we hiked the Arizona Trail between Aspen Corner and Bismark Lake.
As before, Ā identification of the flowers was done via an iPhone app and reverse image lookup. There may be errors.
We continue to see many wildflowers on our hikes in northern Arizona. This week we hiked the Kachina Trail on the San Francisco Peaks and the Kelly Canyon Trail south of Flagstaff.
Identification of the flowers was done via an iPhone app and reverse image lookup. There may be errors.
We were interested in seeing more wildflowers yesterday so we took a short hike on the Arizona Trail starting at Aspen Corner on Snowbowl Road. We didn’t have to go very far to see a large variety of flowers.
With the help of a phone app and some wildflower books I think we have identified all of these.
| Dandelion | Bear Grass | Rocky Mountain Iris |
| Pussy Toes | Clover | Mountain Bluebell |
| Plaintain | Prairie Smoke | White Violet |
And the season is still young.
We had a very wet winter and the months of May and June have had above average rainfall. This has probably helped to bring about early and plentiful blooms of wildflowers across the area.
Here are some photos of just some of the many wildflowers we have seen so far this.
In early June we were hiking along the Arizona Trail south of Lake Mary and encountered numerous clusters of Rocky Mountain Iris. While trying to get a photo of one flower a sphinx moth jumped into the frame. What great luck! Iris season has peaked at these elevations but is probably still going strong in the higher elevations.
In mid June we hiked along the Highland Trail south of Fort Tuthill near Flagstaff. There were a large variety of flowers but I was most impressed with the large clusters of Lupine. Most interesting was this White Lupine. I don’t recall every seeing this variety before and we saw only a few.
Other flowers included Groundsel and Manyflowered Stoneseed.
Wildflower identification was done with the built-in app on an iPhone.
We have had an extended period of heavy rain across Northern Arizona this week with some of the 7-day rainfall totals exceeded 5 inches. After a night of heavy rain we had several hours of fog and low clouds the following morning. I went toĀ Anderson Mesa southeast of Flagstaff to get above the fog. Unfortunately, the fog layer was too deep and there was also a layer of clouds above so there was no morning light. Still, the fog drifting through the Lower Lake Mary area was interesting.
Later in the morning I shot this photo of the lifting fog and low clouds with the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.
All this rain has brought out the wildflowers, including these sunflowers found on the edge of the recently completed Sheep Crossing Trail, part of the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS).