Workin' for a Livin'

The Sata Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post, I've been working for Friends of Nevada Wilderness in the Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness Area and it's been keeping me busy.

The Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness Area is just north of Winnemucca, NV, between US 95 and Nevada 290. It is a gorgeous wilderness, 31,000 acres, with stunning phylite cliffs low in the canyons and granite higher up. There are no lakes in this wilderness area, but there are quite a few creeks; Rebel Creek, McConnel Creek, Horse Creek and Singas Creek--just to name a few. The creeks are surrounded by cottonwood and aspen forests and are quite lush, at least for the Nevada desert.

August is a little late for wildflower season, but I still saw quite a few, including; horse mint, lupin, columbine, monkshood, monkey flowers (my favorite), baneberries, elderberries, and many more.

The first week I was out, the butterflies were amazing. There were so many and they were everywhere, I wish I knew more about them and how to identify them, but I did identify some Mourning Cloaks and some Western Tiger Swallowtails.

Well, I'll post more about the Santa Rosas soon, but here are a few photos to tide you over:

Elderberry flowers

A cool rock formation that reminded me of the Moai, monolithic statues, of Easter Island

The view in Horse Creek Canyon