Nine Minutes After The ZMM Narrator’s Twin Walls of Snow,
…. Close Up To 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.“]

Climbing Down Steep Slope On Hogback Formation, Beartooth Highway, WY. 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 my photos happen to duplicate.
….The warmth advances these flowers well in advance of the surrounding land. 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.

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(Photo = 106-0631 ...... ZMM Page = 110 ...... WayPt = 136i3 …… Photo at WayPt = 145w)