On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
frosty
I took a few pictures of bluebonnets in the Hill Country, then continued practicing photography and researching what I’d taken pictures of at Big Bend and the Arizona State Parks.
I bought the Audubon Guide to the Southwestern states (AZ NM UT NV) at Lost Dutchman State Park. Covers everything – geology, habitat, trees, shrubs, cacti, flowers, reptiles, birds, mammals. There’ve been a few things missing but not much. The internet filled in some gaps. I’m not a naturalist (other than Nature Merit Badge all those years ago). It takes me an hour or so to identify each one. Hopefully they’re right!
I’m really glad we did this trip in the spring, there were so many different ones in bloom. Here are the best shots of the ones I could identify.
Texas Bluebonnets
Desert Marigold
White Wooley Daisy
Brittlebush
Scarlet Globemallow
Spreading Fleabane
Blue Phacella
Stinknet
Salty Sam
Mmm, bluebonnets. Some of my family lives on Inks Lake, spent a lot of time there. March and April when the wildflowers bloom it’s one of the prettiest places on the planet.
Thanks for your extended multi-part travelogue Frosty, I’ve enjoyed it a bunch.
Elizabelle
Thank you, frosty. The bluebonnets have been on my list, for a few years. Must see them.
Your photos are beautiful. Politics aside, I really like Texas. So many microclimates.
frosty
@Elizabelle: We were really taken by the Hill Country. It’s on our Must Return list.
Salty Sam
@frosty: Hah! Mine too.
Texas Hill Country is where I grew up. It is “Home” for me. I miss it.
Elizabelle
@frosty: Gonna have to see it. On the three-year bucket list.
Xavier
@Elizabelle: Kinda hard to show in pictures, but the Hill Country is a great place for live music too. A stop in Luckenbach is a must.
frosty
With Willie and Waylon and the boys.
Salty Sam
Three words- “Devil’s Backbone Tavern”
https://youtu.be/Hpq_XHOcxKU
J R in WV
Frosty, thanks for these wildflower pictures.
OF course, they do hold pretty still once you run them to ground! ;-)
Seriously, nice photo set!! Thanks again!
frosty
@J R in WV: Flowers, yes. Lizards – they tend to freeze long enough for the photos. Birds, sometimes. Rabbits, jackrabbits, snakes, antelope? Never!!
waynel140
Frosty, everyone loves the Hill Country. That’s why it’s so expensive. We didn’t have a great year for bluebonnets. When they peak, there is no prettier sight than a field of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. Texas is a pretty special place, before the Appalachian people moved in.