Looks like you had a fabulous trip, Nancy! Thanks for sharing with us...virtual tour!!
I didn't recognize some of them, but they were neat to see!

Some neat flowers! You were fortunate to be at the right place at the right time it seems.

That one plant with the rosette base and then the odd thickenings along what I am assuming may be/have been a flower stem is bizarre.

Thanks for sharing and even considering us when shooting, Nancy! I feel like we were all there with you... all 768 of us!

I loved visiting Arches and Moab... really cool little town. We, coming from CA, spent 4 days in Zion, 1 day in Bryce Canyon and 1 day in Arches. I wish we'd had more time for Arches and Canyonland, which we skipped. I was blown away by the beauty of Utah. We were lucky enough to take our trip in May while many flowers were blooming.

gorgeous

gorgeous

Thanks, everyone!

Paul, that plant was very bizarre. I had to touch the fat part to see if it was a healthy part of the plant or some weird growth....it was totally normal and firm. If you look closely at the picture, you can just see tiny yellow flowers. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a close up of them.

Ryan, I'm learning that May is a particularly good time to head west, and my husband is thinking about camping at Arches the next time we head out that way. I will be sure to add Bryce Canyon to the list, and maybe we'll actually get to see a little more of Moab, other than the main street!

The drive on I-70 from Denver to Moab is especially scenic with the mountains gradually giving way to the canyon lands. There's even a rest stop along the Colorado river where you can get your feet wet!

Nancy

Those are some nice pictures,those are the kinds of trips I like,to see all the flora and fauna.TFS
kathi

Very cool. I want to go. so bad.

brodyjames, I was reading this old thread, which I much enjoyed, and I wanted to give you the explanation for your plant with the strangely-inflated stem in the 9th photo.

Scroll about 40% of the way down this page:
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljuly98.htm#trumpet

and begin reading at There are many different species of wild buckwheats (Eriogonum) in the southwest, but one of the most unusual is "desert trumpet"

You'll find two explanations for the swollen stems. The first is the insect explanation. The second ("The Desert Trumpet Riddle Solved At Last") is even stranger.