Bob and Jenny were in search of a very special flower and invited us to join in the hunt.

Our treasure was located at the end of the Ellis Peak Trail, a 6.2 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail, located near Homewood, that features a lake and is rated as moderate.
Of all the sights we saw today, these two were the most common!

While our friends were in search of flowering things, I delighted in chasing butterflies.




Other insects caught my eye as well.



And what was the flower that made us hike so far? This beautiful anemone occidentalis (Western Pasque Flower), a herbaceous plant species which blooms mid-spring to mid-summer. Interestingly, it is an herb to calm and soothe the nervous system and benefits an overload of emotional stress. It had the reverse effect on Bob and Jenny when they discovered it. There was audible and very excited glee from both of them. So dang fun.





While the distance of this hike is listed at only 6.2 miles (with an elevation gain of 1,666 feet), we added on two additional miles just meandering during our searching. What a great day of Tahoe fun. Oh man, we are happy hikers!