The best show of color bursts forth from March to May--especially after a wet November and December. The blooms of claret cup cactus and Indian paintbrush often appear first, followed by prickly pear, beavertail, and strawberry hedgehog cactus. On …
Grand Canyon National Park’s 99th Year Picks up Steam
After one more recent blast of wintry weather, Grand Canyon National Park has effectively turned the page from winter to spring. The commercial river-running season has begun, the North Rim is set to open May 15th, trees and wildflowers are beginning …
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Wildflower Pageant in Full Swing on the South Rim
The spring wildflower bloom has begun on the South Rim, aided in part by the generous precipitation that fell in April. Bladderpod, long-leaved paintbrush, and hill lupine are joined by dozens of other flowering plants in adding a touch of color to …
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Peach Tree Trumpets the Arrival of Spring
Though often thought of as a bold, majestic landscape, visible from space, the Grand Canyon is in actuality a virtually limitless patchwork of tiny vignettes of shape, texture, and, when the season is right, color. One of the more reliable …
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Desert in Bloom
In spite of the dry winter, colorful flowers are showing up in shades of yellow, magenta, purple, and red throughout the Inner Gorge. Unlike the wildflowers, you can usually count on the cacti to flower in spring. They are much more drought tolerant …