Brown Mountain Lava Flow

Today I went hiking on the Brown Mountain Trail near Fish Lake, Oregon, some 40 miles east of Medford. The weather was gorgeous, and I got some great pictures of Mount McLaughlin.

Jacksonville Woodlands Trail System

This afternoon I decided to drive over to historic Jacksonville, Oregon, and walk the Woodlands Trail section located above the Britt Festival amphitheater. Many flowers were in bloom, including the red bell-like Gentner’s fritillary, one of the rarest flowers in the world. They are found only in Jackson and Josephine counties, with the greatest concentration in around Jacksonville.

From this site:

Gentner’s fritillary is known only from scattered localities in southwest Oregon, along the Rogue and Illinois River drainages in Josephine and Jackson counties. It is highly localized in a 48 kilometers (30 miles) radius around Jacksonville, Oregon, on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, Department of Transportation, Southern Oregon University, City of Jacksonville, and private landowners.

Upper Table Rock Hike

I just returned from a hike at Upper Table Rock near Medford, Oregon. It is very pretty this time of year, with wildflowers in abundance. People were also in abundance today enjoying the scenery. However, I didn’t see any fairy shrimp for the vernal pools have evaporated until the next rain. When that happens, the eggs laid by the female shrimp will hatch and the cycle begins anew.

The little white flowers I believe are the drawf woolly meadowfoam plants, which are not found anywhere else in the world except the Table Rocks.

There were many hawks flying around looking for food. There were a couple of vultures, but mostly there were hawks. I managed to get a couple of pictures of a couple of them in flight.

Eventually I will make a Blurb “book” from these pictures.

Tom Cooke Trail to Hole-in-the-Wall

Today I went on a five-mile hike of the Tom Cooke Trail which parallels Steamboat Ditch. The trail is located off of 4th Street in Reno towards Verdi. There weren’t a whole lot of wildflowers out, and I wasn’t quick enough to get pictures of a couple lizards and tiger swallowtail butterflies this time out.

The Truckee River from Tom Cooke Trail.

Steamboat Ditch.

There weren’t many wildflowers on the trail.

Emerald Bay State Park, California

Fannette Island.

This little creek leads into Emerald Bay.

Fannette Island is in the foreground. It is the only island on Lake Tahoe.

Emerald Bay.

Emerald Bay State Park

Yesterday, I hiked around gorgeous Emerald Bay State Park on the California side of Lake Tahoe. I took some video of my visit, the first in several years.

Part 1:

Part 2:

I’ll post some still pictures later on.