by hankinslawrenceimages | Jan 9, 2012 | Flowers, Iridaceae Family, South Dakota, Wildflowers
© 2011 Patty Hankins
One of the first wildflowers I photographed on my trip west last summer was the Rocky Mountain Iris (iris missouriensis). I found a patch of these beautiful wild irises at Custer State Park in South Dakota.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Native to much of the Western United States and Canada, the Rocky Mountain Iris is a perennial that like other irises grows from rhizoomes. They grow to about 2 feet tall. Each plant has 1 – 4 purple flowers. Each flower has a yellow base. The Rocky Mountain Irises bloom usually bloom in May and June.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Also known as the Western Blue Flag Iris, these beautiful flowers have been used as a source of food, medicine and poison. The seeds can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. The roots of these plants are poisonous. Some tribes created a poison to use on arrows from the roots. Medicinally, parts of the plants have been used to treat tooth aches, skin problems, kidney and bladder complaints, and venereal diseases.
More information on the Rocky Mountain Irises is available online at
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Montana Plant Life
Native American Ethnobotany Index
USDA Plant Profiles
by hankinslawrenceimages | Nov 28, 2011 | Flowers, Montana, North Dakota, Photo Locations, South Dakota, Wildflowers, Wyoming
Several people have asked me how I was able to identify all the different wildflowers I photographed on my trip west – especially since this was my first time seeing all these wildflowers. The answer is actually pretty straight forward – I bought several reference books before I headed west – and bought a few more while I was in the various parks. I’ve found that by searching amazon for the state or park name and wildflowers I can usually come up with at least some basic reference books before I visit a new area. And then I always visit park bookstores and other local bookstores to see what else I can find. I literally have a shelf full of wildflower identification books – and I’m always looking to add new ones to my collection.
Here’s what I added to my collection as a result of my trip west – and I’m sure I’ll add a few more next year . . . (links go to the books on Amazon – they are provided for your convenience – they’re not affiliate links).
Common Plants of Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Robert L. Sisk and Jan Tysdal-Sisk – includes grasses, trees, shrubs and exotic plants in addition to the native wildflowers. I bought it at the park – and it’s the best guide I found for that area.
Common Wildflowers of Grand Teton National Park – Charles Craighead – a handy little book I bought at Grand Teton. It is an official guidebook of Grand Teton National Park. There are several books in the series including Day Hikes and Short Walks of Grand Teton National Park, Wildlife of Grand Teton National Park and History of Grand Teton National Park. There may be others in the series – these are the ones I brought home with me. These books aren’t available on Amazon – you can order them directly from the Grand Teton Association website.
Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers – Doug Ladd and Frank Oberle – includes wildflowers of the Prairie Midwest – so east of the parks I visited on this trip. It covers from eastern Manitoba – south to northeastern Oklahoma – east to western Tennessee and north to western Ohio. It’s my first book on wildflowers of this region – now I just need some parks to go visit so I can start finding these wildflowers to photograph.
Wildflowers of Glacier National Park and Surrounding Areas – Shannon Fitzpatrick Kimball and Peter Lesica – my favorite book for the wildflowers I found in Glacier National Park. The flowers are organized by color – which always makes it easier for me to identify wildflowers I find and have no clue what family they belong to.
Wildflowers of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks – Richard J. Shaw – my favorite book for Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Organized by color, has the most common wildflowers and nice and light so easy to toss into my backpack.
Wildflowers of Montana – Donald Anthony Schiemann – includes 350 wildflowers in the mountains, plans and forests of Montana
Wildflowers of the Western Plains – Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick – includes 186 species native to the western plains stretching from western Texas and eastern New Mexico in the south to Canada in the north.
Wildflowers of Wyoming – Diantha and Jack States – I got my copy for about $ 20 – no clue why the only copy listed on Amazon is on sale for over $ 900!!! It’s a good book – but I’m sure you can find a more reasonably priced copy elsewhere on the web is it’s still this overpriced on Amazon.
Since I’m planning on heading back to these areas again next year – do you have a favorite wildflower guide for the region that I should add to my collection before I go? If you know of any – please let me know. Thanks 🙂
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 27, 2011 | Flowers, Photo Locations, South Dakota, Wildflowers
My first stop on my big trip to the western parks was Custer State Park in South Dakota. I’d planned on stopping at Badlands National Park – but a couple of friends suggested I’d probably have a better time at Custer. So I followed their recommendations – and am very glad I did. The wildlife at Custer State Park was amazing.
As I drove west, I was totally surprised by what South Dakota looked like. Every time I’ve driven cross country – I’ve the southern route through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. And for some reason, I thought that South Dakota was going to look very similar to Arizona. Clearly I had no clue what to expect. I was amazed at how beautiful it was – green hills, mountains in the distance, huge blue skies – and lots of wildlife visible from the highway! I really enjoyed the drive.
I did make one important stop on my way to Custer State Park – I had to stop at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. I’ve always seen the bumper stickers for Wall Drug – and after my trip along Route 66 last winter I’ve developed a new appreciation for places like Wall Drug. After all – where else can you have someone take your photo on a giant jackelope?????
Or worry that you might be T-Rex’s next meal?
After visiting Wall Drug – I did head to Custer State Park. I spent several hours driving the various wildlife loop roads in the park – being absolutely amazed at the wildlife. I saw my first wild bison at one of the visitor centers – and then saw several herds of them as I explored the park. Don’t let anyone tell you these are nice tame animals – first of all they are huge – and very fast. At one point, several of them were running along the side of the road – and the ground was shaking. This bison was one of several along the side of the road.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
In addition to the bison – I saw several small herds of antelope. They tended to stay a ways back from the roads so I didn’t get very many good photos of the antelope. I did photograph this one from not too far away.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
The final wildlife species I photographed at Custer State Park was the prairie dogs. I’d seen some small colonies of prairie dogs at zoos – I’d had no idea how big their colonies were – or how loud prairie dogs can be! I saw prairie dogs in several of the parks I visited on my trip – and I’m convinced that the prairie dogs in Custer State Park were the loudest animals I heard on the entire trip! They were also adorably cute!
© 2011 Patty Hankins
My one disappointment at Custer State Park was how few wildflowers I found. When I checked at the visitor centers – I was told there weren’t any flowers in bloom. I did find and photograph some. My guess is that there were plenty of flowers in bloom at the park – and I just didn’t find the right trails to hike to find them. Next trip – I’ll do a little more research so I’ll have a better idea on where to find the wildflowers.
The one wildflower photo that I’m happiest with from Custer State Park is one of some Rocky Mountain Irises (Iris missouriensis) – an iris that is native to much of the western United States.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Custer State Park was a wonderful introduction to the parks of the west. Mount Rushmore wasn’t very far from Custer State Park – I didn’t make it there on this trip – but will definitely plan on visiting it on my next trip to the area.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 17, 2011 | Montana, North Dakota, Photo Locations, South Dakota, Wyoming
| As you may know I spent most of the month of June on an incredible photography trip to some of the state and national parks in North & South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. I put over 6400 miles on my car, explored wonderful places I’d only heard about before, and took thousands of photographs.
I’m just starting to seriously process my photos from the trip but I thought you might like to see some of my favorites that I edited while I was on the road. I was hoping to photograph some landscapes, wildlife and wildflowers on the trip. And fortunately I found wonderful opportunities to photograph all of them. |
 |
 |
My first stop on the trip was at Custer State Park in Custer, South Dakota. Several photographer friends had recommended Custer State Park as a great place for wildlife. Their wildlife drives are amazing. I saw and photographed my first wild bison and antelope at Custer. I also discovered just how cute (and loud) prairie dogs are! |
| From Custer State Park I headed on to Yellowstone National Park – the oldest park in the National Park System. When you think of the grand parks of the west – Yellowstone immediately comes to mind. The landscapes were incredible and I photographed more wildflowers at Yellowstone than anywhere else on the trip. |
 |
 |
After visiting Yellowstone, I headed south to Grand Teton National Park. This was one of the parks I totally fell in love with and can’t wait to return to. It had everything a photographer could hope to find – wildflowers, wildlife, and incredible landscapes. On one of my hikes I saw four pairs of mother and baby moose. It was at Grand Teton that I found two of the wildflowers I was really hoping to find – Pink Shooting Stars and a Fairy Slipper orchid. |
| Next up was Glacier National Park – where I learned just how late spring can arrive in the mountains of Montana. Going to the Sun Road which goes across the park was still buried under many many feet of snow while I was there in mid-June. The rangers were showing visitors recent photos of the Visitor Center at Logan Pass – where the snow was up to the roof line. I fell in love with the landscapes at Glacier – incredible mountains, glacial lakes and wonderful waterfalls. Next time I head to Glacier it will be later in the summer – in hopes that Going to the Sun Road will be open and I can see more of the park. |
 |
 |
My last stop on the trip was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Located in the badlands of North Dakota – one of the highlights of the park was the wild horses roaming the landscapes. It was while visiting this part of North Dakota in the 1880s that Theodore Roosevelt began to become aware of issues such as conservation and the need to protect species from extinction. Later as President of the United States, Roosevelt oversaw the protection of close to 230 million acres of public lands. |
| I, for one, am very grateful to visionaries such as Theodore Roosevelt. The lands protected in our National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and Forests are a treasure for all of us to enjoy. Had earlier generations not preserved these lands for us – we would not be able to enjoy them today.
Photos in the article are
Avalanche Creek – Glacier National Park
Bison – Custer State Park
Prairie Smoke – Yellowstone National Park
Shooting Stars – Grand Teton National Park
Bear Grass – Glacier National Park
Wild Horse in the Fog – Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Barn on Mormon Row – Grand Teton National park |
 |
