to the ridge, where you will see an abundance of wildfl ow- ers, along with amazing views of Mount Holy Cross and the Gore Range. If you prefer a road trip, take this scenic road until it drops


down into the small historic mining town of Red Cliff. All along the way, you will see an array of columbine, Indian paint brush and lupine. Some of the columbine are the dark- est blue-violet I’ve seen, almost the same color as the lupine. We even came across a beautiful patch of pink lupine along


the way, a fi rst for me. Views of Mount Holy Cross can be seen from the road, too. In the town of Red Cliff, we sought out the old cemetery. It sits on hill overlooking the town, with col- umbine scattered among the tombstones.


6 Gunnison


At Kebler Pass, on County Road 12 west of Crested Butte, in the shade of a thick aspen forest, I saw snowy white columbine in the wild for the fi rst and only time. I clambered over fallen tree trunks and through twisted vines and ferns


while swatting at hundreds of mosquitoes (what do they eat when I’m not there?), to get close enough for a good look. I was beside myself with the sim- ple beauty of what was indeed a few, nearly pure white, columbine. County Road 12 is a well-maintained gravel road, which travels through


the Elk Mountain and Raggeds Wilderness Areas. Between Kebler Pass and Crested Butte wildfl owers bloom in shocking, colorful abundance. Heading up the top of the pass, we traveled through the largest stand of aspen in North America.


7 Pike (again)


If the trips above seem a little too much like tip-toeing through the tulips, and you’re wanting adventure, how about a serious, and I do mean serious, four-wheel drive escape to Wheeler Lake? The access road, Park County Road 4


off County Road 9 just before the summit of Hoosier Pass, starts off tame enough, and after about eight miles it passes the scenic Montgomery Reservoir, and the ruins of the old Magnolia Mine. It is here that things begin to get interesting. The four-wheel drive enthusiasts I traveled with were eager to drive their


This columbine was seen at Wheeler Lake, near Hoosier Pass.


A rare white columbine found on Kebler Pass, near Crested Butte.


Columbine IQ


 According to Keith Williamson with the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association, the Rocky Mountain columbine, or Aquilegia coerules in Latin, is most often known as Colorado blue columbine or just the Colorado columbine. It belongs to the genus Aquilegia in the buttercup family.


 Colorado schoolchildren voted the columbine the state fl ower in 1899. Cactus fi nished second.


Jeeps over a rock outcropping nicknamed the “Flopper” (because it fl ips vehicles on their sides), I got out and walked. At about 12,200 feet, well above timberline and in the alpine tundra, shamelessly showing off was the ever beautiful Colorado state fl ower. Flopper aside, the trip to Wheeler Lake is worth every bit of effort it takes to get there. Back in the Jeep, we drove above tree line, with incredible views of Mt.


Wheeler and Mt. Lincoln, the peaceful serenity of Wheeler Lake, and the accompanying snow-fed waterfalls. 


Debi Boucher (www.dboucher-photography.com) is a freelance writer and nature photographer based in Colorado Springs.


 Most Colorado nurser- ies carry species and hybrid columbines. Colorado State University says that, in addi- tion to the white-and-lavender fl ower, another Front Range favorite is the Golden colum- bine, A. chrysantha, a vigorous grower with excellent heat tolerance and a long display of fragrant yellow fl owers from late spring to early summer.


 Uprooting the columbine on public lands is a misdemeanor, with fi nes between $5 and $50 (Colorado Revised Statutes 24-80-905 through 24-80- 908). Gathering of blossoms and buds is limited to 25 in one day. It may not be picked at all on private land without the consent of the landowner.


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