Clear Lake

This is posted late; the events described actually took place on July 13th.

We met our friends John and Grayle Blecker at their campsite this morning, and then we all took off to Clear Lake together. Debi, my dad, and I in our LandCruiser; John and Grayle together on one of their ATVs (the other was acting up so they couldn't take it). The picture at far right is of John and Grayle crossing a stream near Clear Lake. Immediately at right is a slight time exposure of a beautiful waterfall just below Clear Lake, on the stream that drains it. The area immediately around Clear Lake is full of spectacular scenery, but unfortunately (from our perspective) the snows had only recently melted around it, so the wildflowers in that area weren't all that wonderful.

At that same falls, there was a beautiful view of the surrounding peaks. My dad sat on an inviting ledge for a little while to absorb the view (and the flowered slope below); the photo at right catchs him returning. As usual there were zillions of wildflowers all along our path. The photo at far right is one that we didn't see all that many of: a small, low, but gorgeously colored bloom.

After we returned from Clear Lake, we traveled up a nearby road toward Bandora Mine. John and Grayle continued with us on this trip, but while we did some hiking through the meadows they took off back to their camp. This road was much lower altitude, and was chock full of wildflowers, especially in a couple of locations on hillside meadows and near a waterfall. After finishing in this area, we went on by ourselves to Ophir Pass, which weren't too impressed with (from a wildflower perspective). By the time we were done with that, it was time to go back to the cabin...

As usual, click on any picture to get a larger view.