The rest of the Desert Flowers

You could see some of the blooming desert along the roadways, the flowers muting into the background foliage. 

 There were yellow ones...

 This was taken at the Visitor Center at one of the parks...

 Even a cactus that was a yellow caught my eye.   Of course I kinda wonder about that sprinkler head beside it.  

 I know it's a weed, but the flower is so bright and cheerful...

 Even the lichen in the rocks was a brilliant yellow.  

 and purple flowers.   I think these belong to the Statice family.  But I could be wrong.   And I misplaced my cheat sheet with all the flower names on it. 

 and even a pink one. 

  white ones...

 I believe these are Datura, which are poisonous, but safely viewed through a camera lens...

 Mounds of white flowers, and I have no idea what they are, but they were gorgeous.

 Also spotted this one blooming at Zions' park.  

as well as the orange, blue and shocking pink cactus flowers I told you about before.   

Orange Desert Flowers

Not only did I see beautiful Cacti blooming when I visited the desert, but I also saw a lot of other flowers.

There were Orange ones,

 
And even some orange flowers glimpsed and hurriedly photographed from the window of the tour bus.

I have more colors to share, but for now, I just wanted to share these.  

I'm just so glad I was able to make this trip and take the pictures.   I may never be in the right place at the right time again, because seeing the Desert flower like this is pretty rare.   At least I'm told that seeing so many flowers blooming so profusely at the same time, is rare.   I'm hoping I get to see it again, and if I do, I will have my camera with me and will share the pictures. 

Pink Cactus

The dichotomy of a flowering cactus has always fascinated me.

 The contrast between this sturdy, prickly inhospitable plant and the delicacy of the flowers.   

I was lucky enough to see some blooming cacti this spring during a brief stop in the desert.  So of course I took some pictures and I want to share them here.  These are called Strawberry Hedgehog.   And before I get to the pictures I took, here is a picture of the description from the Nature Center Display.

I think I could have spent the day, stopping the car each time I spotted one of these blooming off to the side.

The blooms already done,  and the remains left behind

 . 

The luster of the petals with a slight, slight dusting of pollen left behind by a wandering bee.

The contrast of the bright flowers to the surrounding soil, no other greenery or color in sight.

And close up the vividness of the pink and the tracery of darker pink on the petals.

In a weird sort of way, they blend in rather than contrast too starkly to the surrounding area.

Some blossoms done, and others ready to unfurl and show themselves.

The luster...

I am so glad I was finally able to see these cacti blooming.  It's been a wish of mine for many years to visit when the desert blooms and this year I was able to see it.    I hope to do it again, but if not, I have the pictures to enjoy for years to come.