Color in the High Country

THE COLOR OF HIGH COUNTRY yellow

pink

[LEFT] A closeup of a Rocky Mountain bee plant brings into sharp focus its delicate stamens and fourpetaled flowers along with ants attracted by its nectar. [RIGHT] Fleabane blooms among aspens near Hart Prairie west of the San Francisco Peaks.

In 1960 MY GRANDFATHER BUILT a small family cabin in the hills outside of Flagstaff where I often escape. Like many other desert dwellers in the summer, I am drawn from my air-conditioned cocoon to the cool, pine-scented San Francisco Peaks.

Every year, after the snowmelt, I explore this area where Arizona displays its colorful summer blooms. With a pallet of yellow sunflowers, purple larkspurs, blue lupines and red paintbrushes, this high country has always been an inspiration for my photography. In May, the wild Rocky Mountain irises and sunflowers come up in scattered valleys and fields on and around the peaks. In June and July, the foothills turn red with Arizona gilias, climbing up to the slopes of pink Fendler roses and the cinder fields of Newberry's twinpods.

Given the right conditions, Arizona's lofty meadows and peaks pull us into the high-country color and invite us to linger for a while.

fuchsia

Following heavy winter rains, an uncharacteristically lush undergrowth of ferns, lupines, locos, paintbrushes and toadflax hugs the base of a ponderosa pine tree at Schultz Pass. To order a print of this photograph, see page 1. [ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT] A clump of desert paintbrushes resembles exploding fireworks. At Fort Valley, the right combination of sunshine and rain results in a profusion of larkspurs spiking a meadow with their violet trumpets. Goldenrod, Fendler rose leaves and a fallen log create a still life of contrasting textures in the damp Kachina Peaks Wilderness.

A BLAST OF SUMMER COLOR

Our 20 Favorite Places to Savor Wildflowers by Evelyn Howell

NORTHERN ARIZONA

The Arboretum at Flagstaff Guided daily flower walk with a $5 admission. Call for reservations (928) 774-1442; www.thearb.org.

Museum of Northern Arizona (U.S. Route 180 in Flagstaff). Wildflower trail and naturalists to help plan trips. (928) 774-5213 ext. 220; www.musnaz.org.

Red Mountain Geological Area (25 miles northwest of Flagstaff on U.S. 180). Asters and skyrockets bloom on 1.25-mile trail. Peaks Ranger District, (928) 526-0866; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.Schultz Pass Road (Off U.S. 180 north of Flagstaff). Reliable flower areas along Forest Service Road 420 up and over Schultz Pass to U.S. Route 89. Peaks Ranger District, (928) 526-0866; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.

Snowbowl Road (Forest Service Road 516 from U.S. 180 northwest of Flagstaff).

Boasts meadows of purple delphiniums and tall, greenish-white deer ears. Peaks Ranger District, (928) 526-0866; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.

Shoshone Point Trail (South Rim Grand Canyon National Park on Desert View Drive). Park at lot near Milepost 244 and follow 1-mile trail to the Rim lined with lupines, paintbrushes and others. (928) 638-7888; www.nps.gov/grca.

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (Off U.S. 89 north of Flagstaff). Drive offers pink penstemons and scarlet gilias. (928) 526-0502; www.nps.gov/sucr.

Bill Williams Mountain Trail (Kaibab National Forest southwest of Williams). Four-mile trail offers mariposa, or sego, lilies in early July. City of Williams/Forest Service Visitors Center, (800) 863-0546, voice/TTY (928) 635-4707/4061; www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai.

White Mountain Apache Reservation (Along State Route 260 and in the wetlands near Mount Baldy). Get a $5 daily permit from the White Mountain Apache Tribe Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Division, (928) 338-4385; www.wmat.nsn.us.

CENTRAL ARIZONA

White Tank Mountain Regional Park (West of Phoenix). Take Waterfall Road or hike Goat Camp Trail to see blooming creosotes, brittlebushes, senna and chollas. (623) 935-2505; www.maricopa.gov/parks.

Desert Botanical Garden (Phoenix). Flashlight tours let you see fragrant night-blooming cacti for a $9 admission. (480) 941-1225; www.dbg.org.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park (East of Phoenix off U.S. Route 60). Hummingbird-butterfly garden open daily for $7.50 admission. (520) 689-2811; arboretum.ag.arizona.edu.

San Carlos Apache Reservation (Northeast of Globe). Drive paved roads to view desert verbena and prickly poppies on U.S. 60 near Seneca Lake and on Indian Route 8 leading to Point of Pines Lake. Recreation and Wildlife Department, (928) 475-2343; www.scatrw.com.

SOUTHERN ARIZONA

Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve (Northeast of Nogales). The area can explode into color-lupines, Mexican goldpoppies-visible from state routes 83 and 82. Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, (520) 394-2400. www.nature. org/wherewework/northamerica/states/ arizona/preserves/.

Ramsey Canyon Preserve (Near Sierra Vista). Columbines and monkeyflowers. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Ramsey Canyon, (520) 803-6873; www.nature. org/wherewework/northamerica/states/ arizona/preserves/.

Portal (Chiricahua Mountains). The Cave Creek area in the Coronado National Forest also offers wildflower color. Douglas Ranger District, (520) 364-3468, www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado.

Swift Trail (State Route 366, southwest of Safford). Ascend Mount Graham through the Coronado National Forest and discover great views of lupines and penstemons. Safford Ranger District, (928) 428-4150; www.fs.fed.us/r3/ coronado.

Tohono Chul Park (Tucson). Summer flowers, including desert night-blooming cereus and bright amoreuxias. Admission $2-$4. (520) 575-8468, recording; www.tohonochulpark.org.

Sabino Canyon (Tucson). Many wildflowers, including morning glories. Take the open-air shuttle up to its last stop in the canyon ($7.50), and then walk back down along Sabino Creek. Santa Catalina Ranger District, (520) 749-8700; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado.

Saguaro National Park (East of Tucson). Look for desert marigolds and desert zinnias along the Cactus Forest Loop Drive. Take the quarter-mile Desert Ecology Trail. (520) 733-5153; www.nps.gov/sagu.