It was sunny and dry in late spring, as we drove to an open area with scattered pinon pines and Utah junipers, at about six thousand feet in elevation. The ditches of the dirt road, the middle between the tire tracks, and the fields on both sides were full of tiny bright orange wildflowers. It was quite a sight! These mini blooms are the Desert Globemallow. This plant has many stems and clusters of vibrant orange-red flowers, which bloom generally from March to June among desert fields, rocky slopes, or pinon-juniper areas. Globemallow plants are very drought tolerant and the seeds are edible. They are native to parts of the U.S. and Mexico; including California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and Baja California.

I also came across some ground beetles in the area. Ground beetles are widespread throughout North America. They have forelegs adapted for digging in the dirt as they search for insects or small animals to eat. There are more than 40,000 species of ground beetles world wide.