mg1744's photos with the keyword: White River National Forest

"For the least among you all . . . is the greatest." Luke 9:48. Was returning to camp after a little early morning jaunt and noticed this half-blown dandelion seedling in the clear early morning light. Got closer and the camera did the rest.

My son noticed this early blooming example of the state flower of Colorado growing from a small crack in a lichen covered rock along the Maroon Snowmass Trail. We were returning from a hike up to Crater Lake and had just rejoined the main trail in the boulder field below the lake. At his point elevation is about 10,150 feet (3,094m). The view is down and to the west. In addition, photo was actually taken with my cell phone, a Kyocera Rise, camera Kyocera C6725 and then processed with Olympus Master 2.30W software. There is some confusion as to which species of columbine is the official state flower of Colorado. While the "blue" columbine is considered to be the official flower of Colorado, the state code seems to identify the Aquilegia saximontana as the original state flower, to wit: "The white and lavender columbine is hereby made and declared to be the state flower of the state of Colorado." Every citizen has a duty to protect the species and any form of picking or gathering on public land is illegal. Aquilegia saximontana can be found in sub-alpine and alpine areas at elevations of 10,000–13,100 feet (3,050-4,000m) in the Rocky Mountains. This species of columbine normally blooms in July and August. The blooms are lavender and white, and the entire plant reaches 2.0–9.8 inches (5-25cm) in height. This plant is endemic (native only) to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, United States.

Taken on a sunny morning at Bogan Flats Campground on the Crystal River near Redstone, Colorado. Formerly titled just "Water & Wood". Submitted to the October, 2016 Secret Photographer Contest, theme "Minimalism" as entry #41 with the title "Driftwood".