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You are here: Home / Desert Spring bloom / Wildflowers – “Take Photos, Leave only Footprints”

04/19/2010 by Editor

Wildflowers – “Take Photos, Leave only Footprints”

April 17th, 2010 – This quote applies to wildflowers, too.  Which means take pictures and do not pick!  This a.m. on an early morning trek on the River Mountains Loop Trail within Lake Mead National Recreation Area, we came across a nice collection of Giant Sunrays, Enceliopisis argophylla, when to our amazement we saw where someone had picked at least ten (10) flowers out of the grouping of three or four plants.  What a shame and waste….not to mention it is illegal to pick and remove any wildflowers or shrubs from a National Recreation Area.  Here is a photo of the Giant Sunray: 

Giant Sunray, Enceliopsis argophylla, April 17, 2010

This April morning was just perfect for wildflower viewing.  My wife and I entered the trail at Mile Mark 12 near the NPS fee entrance station on Lake Mead Parkway and walked east along the trail taking photos and enjoying the morning. We hit the trail at 6:15 a.m. just at sunrise so shadows were long and contrasts were good.  The creosote bush was dark green and full of yellow blooms everywhere along the trail.  We came up on a Pigmy Cedar, Peucephyllum schottii, all covered in this yellow/orange web stuff called “dodder” which is a parasite.  Here is a photo of cedar and “dodder”: 

Pigmy Cedar, Peucephyllum schottii, with "dodder" parasite growing April 17, 201-

 

WE found the desert about as green as it has been in recent memory and its sparse at that.  the soils are very harsh so plants  have to produce quickly before the summer heat cooks them.  We found lots of yellow flowers, several in the white and one in purple which I’ll identify in the gallery that follows.  We hiked in 2.5 miles and turned around at Mile Marker 14.5 which offers a grand overlook of Lake Mead from the Las Vegas Wash/Marina area.  The Muddy Mountains are off in the Northeast some 15-miles, Lava Butte just north about 4-miles, and southeast across the lake is Fortification Hill and Mt. Wilson.  During our 2.5 hour adventure we greeted 27 cyclists on the trail, one jogger, and one walker.  No dogs, no coyotes, no snakes, no tortoise, but it was very quiet.   I did note a lot of scat on the edge of the trail, mostly coyote I would guess. 

PHOTO GALLERY OF APRIL 17TH, 2010 WILDFLOWERS: 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Desert Spring bloom, Photo images long RMLT, Wild Flowers Tagged With: Dodder, Giant Sunray, Notch-leaf Phacelia, Pigmy cedar, Sundrops

« Family Fun & Fido Walk – April 10, 2010 at Equestrian Park
Wildflowers of Railroad Pass, Nevada…..April 24, 2010 »

Comments

  1. Lee Dittmann says

    04/19/2010 at 4:44 PM

    In case anyone is taking notes, here are some spelling corrections:

    “Peucephyllum shottii” is Peucephyllum schottii, and the photograph is labeled with the wrong scientific name.

    “Mentzella tricupus” should be Mentzelia tricuspis.

    “Eshscholzia glyptosperma” should read Eschscholzia glyptosperma.

    Other than that, nice photos and informative report!

  2. rmltman says

    04/20/2010 at 3:57 PM

    Thanks be to Lee for pointing out my errors. Blame it on my eyes or fingers for running amuck over the key board. I did forget to do spell check, too. Hopefully all is fixed and right in the wildfowers world.

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River Mountains Loop Trail
1 week ago
River Mountains Loop Trail

Update: Closure at RR Pass due to storm damage impacting concrete at railroad tracks.

Henderson is working with UPRR and the Boulder City Railroad Museum to make this repair as soon as possible.
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River Mountains Loop Trail
1 week ago
River Mountains Loop Trail
Hello All,

The City of Henderson is  temporarily re-routing trail traffic around the railroad tracks near Railroad Pass Casino. We dont have a timetable for this closure yet. 

Updates coming soon on the re-opening of this trail section.

Hello All,

The City of Henderson is temporarily re-routing trail traffic around the railroad tracks near Railroad Pass Casino. We don't have a timetable for this closure yet.

Updates coming soon on the re-opening of this trail section.
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15 CommentsComment on Facebook

It’ll be like this till next year or so .

Had a employee from Railroad museum, train is running but is being stop half down, it is not going pass Railroad Hotel and Casino he sad the track was damaged from Hilary and monsoon rain we had

Where does the trail reroute for this section?

I biked this today and there was no closure?!?!

Lisa Lohmann we will have remember this when we plan our long ride

For your safety = the government is all knowing and you must comply because you know no better!

Great, I’m usually hauling ass there, only to find a barricade 3 seconds till I hit them if I’m watching closely

Part of the F1 race construction?

Steve Burchell

There’s no easy “re-routing” once you’re at this point….

anything fun in henderson, the city wants to tax you to use.

Someone I know biked this section today from the ped bridge over the 11 to BC and said the trail was clear of all the dirt that was on the trail a week ago.

Rode by the Railroad Pass today, no problem. Is it still closed elsewhere?

Mattchew Fisherino

The resurfacing that was slated to begin back in April HAS BEGUN! Someone I know rode the RMLT early morning Monday the 18th and said there were roadwork crews busy repairing cracks and applying blacktop, so please abide by the trail closure signs on the northern section of the trail unless you enjoy riding through fresh tar. BTW, the gates at the RR Casino crossing have been moved out of the way and there appears to be nothing going on there in the way of repairs. Also, the entire trail has been cleared of all gravel and debris from the recent rains so thanks to the City of Henderson for dealing with that. The attached trail closure map that was put online last March now actually applies.

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River Mountains Loop Trail
3 weeks ago
River Mountains Loop Trail
Thank you John Day for cleaning storm debris off of the RMLT!

Thank you John Day for cleaning storm debris off of the RMLT! ... See MoreSee Less

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34 CommentsComment on Facebook

Thanks John and all that keep our trail clean! Your hard work is greatly appreciated!!

There are some great people in this world!!!

Awesome. We encountered some rough patches on Saturday morning.

Your a legend!! Thank you sir

Wow! What a mess, thanks for clearing all that. I loved riding that trail when I lived in Vegas🚴‍♀️

Thank you...so much!!

You can do the Beltway Trail when you are finished. LOL. All your hard work is greatly appreciated by the cycling community. Thank you.

We have an amazing group of “trail gnomes” in our mountain bike community who put in significant hours to maintain trails throughout the year that are my inspiration to contribute to the biking culture in Henderson, Las Vegas, and Boulder City.

Awesome my friend 🤙🏽

🙌🙌🙌

Clap clap for him .. thank you so much

Thank you

Huge thanks!

I’ve been there 3x on that trail it’s amazing. we start at the railroad casino, thanks for your outstanding support 👏🏻👏🏻

Thanks much. Does anyone know if it needs cleaning anywhere else?? I have free time tomorrow.

Thank you!!!

Thank you John Day!

Thank you!

Thank you!!

Thank you 😊

thanks!

thank you so much, i saw you Saturday but i had to find my husband who turned around, thanks again, appreciate you!!!

Thank you John!

Thank you sir! Greatly appreciated! Kerry Jo Mitchell

Robert Jr Samano

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