Matt and I spent a long weekend at South Mineral Creek campground near Silverton, Colorado. I can say without hesitation that this was the best possible place we could’ve chosen to spend our weekend. On Friday, we hiked the Ice Lake trail that leaves right from the campground. It’s six miles round trip, with almost 3,000 feet of gain from bottom to top... a difficult hike, but totally worth the effort.I’m separating my account of this trip into two separate blog entries — that is how absolutely amazing this hike was. I’m starting with the wildflowers, which were out of control. I took over 400 photos today, if that tells you anything at all.
Colorado Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea)
It’s easy to see why the Colorado Columbine is the official state flower... It’s so big and delicate and gorgeous!
Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum)
I just love this Cow Parsnip, partly because of the name, but mostly because of the way it captures the light and forms a little umbrella for it's big floppy leaves down below.
Elephant’s Head (Pedicularis groenlandica)
I guess it’s pretty obvious why this plant is called “Elephant’s Head.” Each little flower looks like an elephants snout!
