While hiking near the confluence of the Lamar River and Slough Creek, a windstorm swept the valley, threatening, but not delivering, rain to the dry valley floor. For a few minutes, the wind shreiked and a few raindrops spattered down. We took shelter beneath an outcropping high above the Lamar River. When the storm moved on, the surrounding ridges were dusted with a fresh cloak of snow, but within minutes, the temps on the valley floor soared back into the 60s. It was a typical day in Yellowstone, where if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes to see if the next batch is more to your taste.

Bottom: The bloom of the Bitterroot flower. Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Portulacaceae with a fleshy edible root, a rosette of leaves, and short-stalked white or rose flowers. It is often found in dry, gravelly foothill regions of the Rockies. This specimen was on a rocky hillside on the dry floor of Lamar Valley, near the Lamar River in the western end of the valley.
The Bitterroot is the state flower of Montana. The Lewis and Clark expedition found it in the western Montana valley that now bears its name. Montana's Indians used it as an important part of their diet. Tribes timed their spring migrations with the blooming of the bitterroot on the gravel river bars and hillsides. Dug, cleaned, and dried, the root provided a lightweight, nutritious supplement to a wild-game diet. The root was often an item of barter and exchange. A sackful commanded a substantial price - usually a horse in those days. One ounce of dried root provided sufficient nourishment for a meal, but the plant was seldom eaten raw, for its bitter taste and resultant swelling caused great discomfort. More traditionally, Indian women boiled the root, then mixed it with berries or meat to make pemmican. After being pulverized and seasoned with deer fat and moss, the cooked root could be shaped into patties and carried on hunting expeditions or war parties.