Wildflowers along the Escalante Route, Grand Canyon (vertical)

A spring superbloom in the Grand Canyon set the stage for hiking through seemingly endless fields of colorful wildflowers in the desert. At a high overlook during a long day backpacking most of the Escalante Route, I found this cluster of contrasting flowers that provided the perfect foreground for a backdrop of the Colorado River far below. (There”s also a horizontally composed version of this photo for sale.)