Two photos from a recent hike

This was an interesting hike. The day started out kind of cold, dark and miserable, but ended up being sunny, bright and summery. The trail went up onto a ridge and there were some awesome views of the surrounding tree-covered hills. It also wandered through an interesting little valley. At one point, I wandered off the trail to a hilltop where I meditated for a while. Very peaceful. My camera is not very good, so the pictures I took did not do justice to the beauty. Several times I would look at the trees against the blue sky on a neighboring ridge and it would look very beautiful. That's what I was trying to capture in the second picture above, although it doesn't come through as strongly as it does in person. The other picture is of some flowers that appear to have been planted along the trail. I don't know who would have done that in this remote location, but their efforts are appreciated!(As usual, click on the photos for a larger view.)