Monkey Flowers...

Yesterday Debbie and I did a little four-wheeling, down Boulder Creek Road and a side road we discovered a couple years ago.  The altitude varies from about 3000' to almost 5000' along these roads.  To our great surprise we found abundant wildflowers at every altitude – very unusual for this late in the year, especially at the lower elevations.  So far this year has been basically at the 100 year average for rainfall, but quite a bit cooler than average.  The combination of normal rainfall (instead of drought) and cooler temperatures must account for the late season.  But whatever the cause, we enjoyed the scenery! 

The photos here are of one of my favorite natives: Mimulus clevelandii, commonly known as monkey flower (supposedly the flower looks like a grinning monkey's head, but I don't see the resemblance).  We have several of these growing in our yard, but the ones we saw today at higher altitudes were much more beautiful.  As usual, click to enlarge...