For a wonderful spring walk, try Wink Jaffee Trail along the Roaring Fork River. Go right on Smith Way heading west on Highway 82 from Snowmass Village and Aspen. Go down the hill and turn right into the park at the junction with McLain Flats Rd. If you start at the parking lot and walk along the river, then take the first left trail uphill (in a little over a mile) to the Rio Grande Trail to complete a 2.9 mile loop back to the parking lot. Below is a list of the blooming wildflowers and birds I saw there yesterday. Interesting information about each species is in Wild at Heart. Take your hand lens as you will need it for the unique tiny pink flowers of Mountain Lover. I’m listing the scientific names for the wildflowers as you will need that if you are searching for info on the internet (common names are too abundant), whereas you won’t need that with birds as they have a set common name. It’s fun to go to All About Birds here or download their app “Merlin Bird ID” and search for the birds above to learn their songs before you go…much easier to know the bird you are looking for if you know their song. Plus, it’s like being surrounded by good friends. Enjoy!
Yellow Lanceleaf Violet (Viola vallicola), Dwarf Bluebells (Mertensia fusiformis), Water plantain buttercup (Ranunculus alismifolius), Milfoil lomatium (Lomatium grayi), Rocky Mountain Spring parsley (Cymopterus planosus), Mountainlover (Paxistima myrsinites).
Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-capped Chickadee, Townsend’s Solitaire, Song Sparrow, American Dipper.
Wild at Heart 