Here's a collection of wildflowers seen on our drive up to the Babbitt Peak lookout last Wednesday. A few miles out of Loyalton we pass through an open stretch known as Jones Valley. There were lots of blooming Checker Mallow and Wandering Daisy near the electric fence bordering the meadow. This looked like it would be a spectacular area in spring and I aim to find out next year. Upon leaving the meadow we entered a great forest of large Quaking Aspen. Lining the creeks flowing through this forest we found lots of White Brodiaea, a flower that bloomed at the Quincy elevation a couple of months ago. This was like returning to spring!
The remaining flowers pictured here were found near the summit in meadows surrounding the lookout. Most of these bloomed and wilted at the Quincy elevation in late spring or early summer. Besides the exhilaration of a return to spring, there were great views such as the one here looking west toward the Sierra Buttes. We could also see Heavenly Valley at the south end of Lake Tahoe and Lassen Peak to the north. The view of the lookout at the top of this post shows what a beautiful area it's in. Wildflower meadows, great stands of Mountain Mahogany and Western White Pine and clean air. A somewhat rough drive, but worth the trouble of eating a lot of dust.
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