Our granddaughter is 21 today! How has the time passed so quickly? Happy Birthday, Tricia!
Today we drove into the Spring Mountains just west of the town of Crystal, a dot on the map near the refuge. With a 3,000 plus mile journey not far ahead we want to spend a few weekends restfully. Nearby sites fill the bill.
This is the season for wildflowers and we enjoy looking for them.
This plant goes by several names, Pygmy Cedar is the most common followed by Sprucebush and Desert-Fir
Bristly Fiddleneck
Mohave Pincushion
Fremont Pincushion
Desert Star is called a belly flower as one must be almost on one's belly to see it. How dainty these are and I almost missed them.
Bigelow Monkeyflower
Still working on this one.....but it is another belly flower.
Creosote bush - found everywhere - the most abundant plant in this desert.
Mohave Yucca
Lovely to look at but Tamarisk (Salt Cedar) is non-native. This introduced tree was brought into the southwest to help with soil erosion. It is terribly invasive and each tree drinks hundreds of gallons of water daily. The refuge has spent many, many dollars to eradicate the trees. It was an expensive problem at Bosque del Apache NWR where we volunteered 3 winters ago. And it was prevalent at Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas too. We surely need to think through our solutions. 
Just north of the refuge is this dry lakebed.
Just north of the refuge is this dry lakebed.
