Wildflower Wanderings: Flowers on the River

On Tuesday Warren and I got out the raft to float the Middle Fork and escape the heat here in town--we've had several days of 90-95 for a high. Nothing compared to those of you further south, but pretty warm for us northeners! We didn't do the whitewater section, but a calmer stretch of river higher up (from Walton bridge to Paola), and I oared while Warren fished. We had a very relaxing, lazy day and the water was cold enough to chill us to the bone!

We don't usually see many flowers along the river; spring run-off sweeps a lot away and we often don't get close enough to the bank to see all that might be there. But this day had some wonderful surprises!

First at the put-in, while I waited for Warren to shuttle the truck to the take-out and hitchhike back, I found several familiar lovelies in the woods along the river.

Northern Bedstraw

Indian Paintbrush

Self-heal

Wild Rose

Alpine Pussy-toes

Wood's Pussytoes

Ox-Eye Daisy

Then along a sandbar when Warren needed to scout a rocky place, we found some Alpine Fireweed of all things! I looked it up and here is what the book says: "Alpine fireweed is one of the first colonizers of newly formed gravel bars, along with yellow mountain avens (dryas). It differs from common fireweed in its smaller stature....It's also known as broad-leaved willowherb." Its leaves are different as well.

And this Bladder-Campion-like flower that I'm not sure of.

When we stopped for a picnic lunch, we were greeted along the shore by a forest of Yellow Mountain Avens seed-heads! What do you know?! There were still some in bloom as well.

Dueling Dryas!

Across the river from where we were eating there was a little spring and something flowering on top of the seep. My camera zoom got me pretty close to it, and I would guess that it is White Angelica.