Bloomin' Wildflowers and Reflective Potholes

The last time I wrote an update I warned you all about the quickly melting snowcap on the La Sal Mountains. Luckily, we've had a couple great storms come through the area and they left behind a healthy dose of snow on the peaks so they're actually looking better now than they were a month ago. That said, I seriously doubt that snow is going to last more than two to three weeks.

Those storms also dumped quite a bit of rain in the desert, filling area potholes to near maximum capacity. Larger potholes will hold water for several weeks but the smaller, more common ones will be empty within a few days. Get here while the gettin's good as it's always fun to photograph reflections of arches and towers in these ephemeral little pools.

Lastly, the wildflowers are coming along nicely. This is not going to be a banner year for them but there are enough blooms around that finding a floral foreground won't require too much work. Prince's plume is looking very healthy, as are the claret cup cactus blooms. Mules ear is just starting to bloom and will likely peak in most areas some time in the next 7 to 10 days. I've seen a few Whipple's fish hook cactus starting to flower, some nice clumps of lupine and, surprisingly, there are even a few bright red Indian paintbrush flowers clinging to life at the edges of slickrock and sand dunes.

That's all for now. Oh, one last thing: I've still got one spot available for my Undiscovered Moab Photo Tour next month, May 15-17. Click here to learn more about and/or register for this opportunity to explore and photograph some remote and stunning landscapes around Moab!