Nine Minutes After The ZMM Narrator’s Twin Walls of Snow,
…. A Close Up View Of An Unexpected Discovery: More Little Purple Flowers Highlight the Rocks and Last Summer’s Grass.
…Of Course, There Are NO Trees!

….[ “There’s not a tree anywhere, only grass everywhere filled with little pink and blue and white dots of intense color.“]

…These magenta flowers appear to be Rhexia-leaf Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja rhexifolia) just beginning to bloom. These perennial flowers grow in alpine and subalpine areas.
LEARN MORE …=>
Click Here To Read About “Indian Paintbrush.


Climbing Down The Steep Slope On “A Hogback Formation”, Beartooth Highway, WY. The ZMM Narrator's descriptions of all the beautiful flowers in the "High Country", had alerted me to be looking for flowers all along the highways of my ZMM Route Research.
….After The Rock Creek Vista Point TurnOut Rest Area, I especially was looking for flowers near locations that would best fit the ZMM Narrator’s passage above. For example, I looked for flowers all around my Way Point 136, but none were seen in that area.
….In retrospect, I imagine that there could have been warm, sunny, slopes for flowers all around WayPt = 136. But, I just did not know where to look for them, or more likely, the flowers were near there, I just did not see them!..
….By pure chance, at Way Point 145, I had decided to climb down the steep slope to photograph a marmot killed along the highway. This was steep down to the next tier, and by a switchback. To do this I climbed straight down a steep Northwestern facing slope. And, here by pure chance, I discovered some very nice wild flowers! This includes the /\ Above /\ Photo,

What Is The Reason These Flowers Can Flourish Here (Somewhat Better Than Other Places) At These Elevations?
…I think it is this steep Northwest facing hill side was / is on a slope and orientation that got much greater sun & daily warmth. This would occur in the Mid Summer, several hours a day, mid to late afternoon, while the sun is actually to the Northwest, and somewhat perpendicular to the steep slope. This sunshine condition & direction is duplicate in my photos.
….This sun’s warmth helps develop these flowers well in advance of the flowering plants in surrounding land areas.
…However, I came through here June 21, two weeks prior to the Narrator and crew, so I may have gotten to this area a bit too early in the growing season, to really expect to see the Narrator's flowers.
….What my photos show on this "extra warm sun enhanced slope”, surely would appear later all over the higher and more level areas of open tundra seen in my photos. AND now I know => Warm sunny slopes would be the best locations to find flowers to properly fit-in with the ZMM Narrative.

How Did It Happen, That By Accident, I Was Climbing Down The Steep Slope On “Hogback Formation”, Beartooth Highway, WY.
…Concerning “The Hogback Formation”, The SECOND Previous Photo gives a Blue Link to the => “12th Small Photo where you can read => An Interlude & Explanation. This shows a view of the slope I climbed down. Which was from the top level to the 2nd levels shown.
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… slope I climbed down
(Photo = 106-0632_IMG.JPG ...... ZMM Page = 110 ...... WayPt = 136i3 …… Photo at WayPt = 145w)