Today we drove along Rock Creek Road in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. There is much in bloom at the higher elevations.
There were the Prickly Poppies that started just under a mile up the road. There were less than previous years.
At about a mile and half there was Angelica and Southern Mt. Misery in bloom and Wild Currants in fruit.
At about 2 two and half miles there is a hillside with a tapestry of high desert shrubs and Sulphur Buckwheat.
The best flowers start at about five and half miles up and over 8500 feet elevation
There were many flowers were along the roadside in the wet spots. Flowers appearing included Yellow Monkeyflower, Kelly’s Lily, White Rein Orchids, Rangers Buttons, Monkshood, Single Stemmed Groundsel, a Cinquefoil, Swamp Onion, Fireweed, a Willow Herb, Buckwheats, Yarrow, Lupines, Paintbrush, Richardson’s Geranium, Scarlet Gilia, Western Columbine, Meadow Rue, Arrow-Leaf Grounsdsel, and Wild Rose.
Although there were flowers at the highest elevations above the 9000 foot mark the flowers didn’t seem to be fully out yet.
The trail at the end of the road is very popular. Every possible parking spot within a mile of the trailhead was taken. If you want to hike the trail it would be best to go up early and do it on a weekday.
After Rock Creek Rd. we drove along 395 and saw some nice roadside displays. We checked out Smokey the Bear Flat but it was more sparse than usual. The main flower in bloom there is a small lupine.
Today’s iPhone photo slideshow:
Natural History Wanderings 
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