Millions of Wildflowers

There are foothills in the Bear Lake Valley that always have a lot of spring wildflowers, but this year is exceptional.  Linda and I were invited to a wedding at a beautiful house on 300 acres high in the foothills and were amazed at the view and the mass of wildflowers.  The owners graciously invited us to return for photos, and we went back twice.

Most of the flowers are arrowleaf balsamroot, a showy, large flower.  Many acres of the hillside are a mass of yellow because of these flowers.

This area had several varieties of lupine mixed with the arrowleaf balsamroot.

Here are two of the many variations of lupine.

Patches of blue camas were a surprise because they are usually found in wetlands.  When I went back a couple of days later many of them were drying out.

We continued higher up the hill on our second visit.  The mass of yellow flowers disappeared and were replaced by scattered Indian paintbrush.  It is remarkable how the elevation change made such a difference.  It has been a beautiful spring.

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Bear Lake Ice Breakup

Bear Lake doesn’t freeze every year, but when it does there are sometimes good photo opportunities when the ice breaks up.

 On this February day, a snowstorm was blowing in, and the gray clouds were a strong contrast to the blue and white piles of ice at Rainbow Cove on the Utah end of the lake.

Most of the ice blows ashore at just a few places.  Here at Cisco Beach huge piles of ice stack up, and as they scrape across the rocks, boulders are sometimes lifted several feet off the ground.  Strong blue colors show up in ice protected from snow and frost.

Sometimes vertical slabs of ice melt into fantastic delicate patterns.  Maybe their angle to the sun helps them melt faster than horizontal slabs.  The ice at Rainbow Cove had several of these wonderful delicate shapes.

The lake was covered by a fog bank in the distance, behind another delicate ice formation at Rainbow Cove.

Every time I explore Bear Lake I find something new.  The lake seems to have different moods every season, and I never get tired of the beauty of places like Rainbow Cove.  The fog and ice on this day was really special.

My photos are copyrighted, so please do not use them without permission.

Spring Transition

A change is coming to the Idaho high country.  Spring, also known as mud season, is starting in the Bear Lake Valley and the surrounding high country.  We have had a lot of snow and when it melts we put up with mud until the run-off subsides.

Just a few days ago the hills east of Montpelier still had snow, and I photographed this small herd of elk from our deck.  Now most of the snow is gone and the elk have left for the back country.

A young moose in neighboring Star Valley, Wyoming was content to rest in willows near the Salt River and let us take pictures.  Once in a while she nibbled a twig as we watched.

As the snow melts and bare ground appears, migrating sandhill cranes and Canada Geese look for food in fields where cattle are being fed.  These were seen between Montpelier and Ovid, Idaho.

Photographers, grab a long lens and come to the Bear Lake Valley to look for wildlife!