Wildflower Walk Field Trip to Cottonwood Cove Road and Nelson, NV 3-20-17

This past Monday, ten photographers who also love desert wildflowers, went to photograph the wildflowers along Cottonwood Cove Road. After lunch, we continued on to Nelson, NV, to photograph the interesting abandoned and weathered buildings/objects in the desert.

After our trip to Nelson, we continued down the road through El Dorado Canyon to the Colorado River/Lake Mojave to photograph more (and different) wildflowers.  The wildflowers did not disappoint! We were able to identify 26 different species in bloom, and quite a few were in abundance!  There were some areas where it was almost impossible to take a step without stepping on a tiny plant with a colorful bloom; these plants created a carpet of beauty on the desert floor.

There were hillsides close to the river that were covered with encelia bushes at their peak with brilliant yellow blooms. In addition to the encelia, we found checker fiddleneck, creosote, desert dandelion, desert star, lupine, notch leaved phacelia, and purple mat in abundance.  Many of the blooms in the desert are tiny and close to the ground, so we were able to practice our macro shooting skills!


The rusted cars, trucks, buses and weathered buildings in Nelson, NV, provided many opportunities for great photos.  We really had the sense of “yesteryear” as we wandered through the buildings and around the objects in search of capturing that interesting image.  Some of us even ventured up a small hillside to check out a cemetery which contained the graves of pioneers from the 1800s, and one lonely little Desert Five Spot in bloom – a rare plant found primarily in a few specific places in Death Valley!


We enjoyed the trip, and getting to know fellow members.  Everyone shared information with the group, so it was a great learning experience for all of us.  We hope you’ll consider participating in future field trips – we’re making plans for the remainder of the year, with monthly trips scheduled through December (with the exception of August – no field trip that month).  We hope each field trip will be a time for sharing, learning from one another, and having FUN!  Hope to see you on our next trip!

Click here for album.