Besides a great place to meet the kids and go for a hike, Daniel's Pass has beautiful wildflowers this time of year. Above is a field behind the lodge, covered with Mule's Ears, daisy-like yellow flowers, so named because the shiny leaves are shaped like a mule's long ears.
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| Common Camas Camassia quamash |
Camas is a member of the lily family. These flowers bloom densely in moist ground. From a distance, an entire meadow has a faint blue-violet color, as you may be able to see in the photo above. Native Americans pit-roasted the bulbs, bland in flavor, and also boiled them to yield a tasty syrup.
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Douglas' Triteleia Triteleia douglasii |
Triteleia are also of the Lily family. We saw them on the same walk. They grow on drier ground, among the sage or in pine forests.
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| Apollo Butterflies |
Where flowers grow, butterflies flit. This pair seems to be embracing. Steve spotted them fly together in the air, then flutter softly to the ground as one. Such is love in the land of wildflowers.
