Where I spent yesterday

Yesterday, a few of us were so lucky because a friend took us to an area west of Longview (south of Calgary), on the Kananaskis border - maybe an hour's drive from the city? He had found a plant that he thought was Balsamroot and wanted us to see it. I thought he meant that he had found just one small plant, but when we had climbed high, we discovered that part of the hillside was just brilliant yellow from all the clumps of this pretty plant. I hadn't expected the actual flower head to be as large as it was, which was a nice surprise. Not only did we all get to see this sight (and this was a new plant for me), but we also saw plants like Scorpionweed (another new plant for me), Jacob's ladder, Red-stemmed Saxifrage and other beautiful plants. The scenery was gorgeous with quite a few Limber Pines, the weather was sunny and warm, and the company of a few friends was as precious as always : ) And today, my knees and thighs KILL!!!