More on Lakes Basin

The snow plant [bottom photo] is always an attention-getter. It is a brilliant red and emerges soon after snow melt, or right along the melt line when there is still plenty of snow present. Also, it obviously has flowers, but no green. It's what we call a saprophyte. Living, like a mushroom, by absorbing nutrients from the soil humus. It is actually a member of the heath or wintergreen family, Ericaceae. At first it's hard to believe it could be in the same family as manzanita and madrone, but a close look at the flowers leaves no doubt.
Another treat was the occasional patches of Mountain Maple. It only grows as a shrub, not a tall tree like the Bigleaf Maple, and on this day many patches had what appeared to be bunches of bright red insect eggs on the leaf margins. Didn't have a lens handy, but will investigate these red blobs when I get a chance.
The two "attack" photos are [top] a Goldenrod Crab Spider attacking a butterfly on a Mule's Ear blossom, and [2nd photo from top] a parasitic vine in the morning glory family, Dodder, attacking a red flowering plant, Scarlet Gilia. I strongly recommend a hike through the Lakes Basin. There are many options. We started at the Lily Lake turnoff, near the Gray Eagle Lodge turnoff, and after circling the lake connected with the Graeagle Creek trail and headed south toward Long Lake. Took a side branch (left) to see Halsey Falls and eat lunch, then returned. We then drove up Gold Lake Road to the next parking spot and hiked into what we call Spirit Rock, although I haven't seen that name or any other name for it on a map. It's more or less north east of long Lake and just west of Fern Creek. A great climb on a granite wall and views of still more interesting plants including Mountain Hemlock. There was still around five feet of snow in a crevice near the top.