Friday, March 28, 2008

Rattlesnake Redux

Last time I hiked Rattlesnake Canyon, I told you that my knees hurt like crazy on the way down. I hiked it again today. I outfitted my fanny pack with ibuprofen and ace bandages, but I'm happy to report that I didn't need them! Except for varied intervals at the very end, I didn't have a twinge! I'm wondering if it may have been hormonal. Two weeks can mean a world of difference in a woman's body!

I must confess I thought about turning around after a rest at the meadow, but I didn't want to wimp out, so I went for the gold! I'm glad I did.

My favorite passer-by was a black lab who was carrying a ginormous "stick" in his mouth. It was about 4 inches in diameter and at least six feet long! I'm lucky he passed me at a wide point in the trail. It reminded me of Chris, who would also pick the largest log on the trail. I had to chuckle as he and his human friend passed.

It was a stunning day. And I was happy to see a TON more wildflowers. Not only were there more blooms of the species I showed you last time, there were many more species blooming. I took a lot of pictures, but my camera didn't do so well on close-ups, so I'm posting only some of the ones I saw. Please click on each picture for a bigger view.

Not all of them are labeled, because I couldn't quickly identify them. I wanted to share them tonight!


The rock rose was plentiful along the lower part of the hike! Bushes and bushes of neon pink blooms!






Fiesta Flower?






Wild Mustard





Lay-and-Collie's Indian Paintbrush




Bush Poppy

And, the Grande Dame:

Miss California Poppy


Herre are some critters that I saw:






Tiger Swallowtail


Alligator Lizard

And the scenery:













2 comments:

P-Doobie said...

Cool pix! Thanks for sharing.

I remember that big Chris would carry logs around in his mouth. A favorite trick while carrying his logs was to run between two people walking side by side and knock them over.

RetroMag said...

Beautiful flowers, butterflies, scenery, etc.! Thanks for sharing.