of thigh-high poppies, our jaws agape like all the other flower-peepers who’d stopped as well. We had the most wonderful time photographing these enormous flowers and sharing our excitement and astonishment with everyone else. It may not seem safe to pull over on an interstate like that, but this appeared to be an all-day occurrence at this place at this time of year when the flowers put on their impressive show. Unfortunately, all I recall about the location is that we were a few miles west of Asheville on the south side of the highway. However, breathtaking patches of wildflowers are so common along North Carolina’s highways that their Department of Transportation publishes a booklet to help identify them.
to find out they are an invasive species. If only the invasive weeds in our back yard were so beautiful. Not only was their huge size surprising, but they varied in color from light pink to dark pink to lavender, burgundy and deep purple. Such magnificence. We found them at Schoodic Point, in the town of Gouldsboro and even out on Great Cranberry Island off the southern tip of Mt. Desert Island. It turns out that Maine had a native species of lupine called the Sundial Lupine, but the bigger and stronger Lupinus Polyphylllus has encroached and gradually taken its place since it first appeared in Maine in the 1950s. Even knowing that this tougher flower had edged out its weaker brother, we were thrilled every time we turned a corner and saw a large patch of giant lupine standing erect and radiant in the sun! Wherever your RV travels take you, you’re sure to find some beautiful wildflowers, whether they’re in well-known places that host festivals and track the flowers’ progress or hidden in delightful spots that catch you by surprise!
Packer Meadows in Idaho - Vibrant Blue Camas Flowers
June brings striking vistas filled with waves of large blue Camas flowers spread across more than 50 acres at Packer Meadows just south of the Idaho/ Montana border at Lolo Pass. This is the start (or end) of the twisty Northwest Passage Scenic Byway (US-12) that follows the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition down to Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston, Washington. The National Park Service has a lovely visitors center at Lolo Pass, and it was there that we learned the Camas flowers were blooming about half a mile down a dirt road right behind the building. As we drove, we wondered if we’d been sent on a wild goose chase when suddenly the huge fields of flowers came into view. Lewis & Clark spent 11 days in this area in mid-September 1805 and then returned to the meadow in June 1806, and Captain Lewis referred to the area as “quamash flatts.” What a thrill it was to see the vivid blue flowers today, more than 200 years after Lewis and Clark were there. The Native Americans ate the roots of the Camas plant, which are apparently very nutritious. But we were happy just to soak in the extraordinary views of masses of large lavender-tinged blue flowers dancing on their tall green stems.
Northern Coastal Maine—Gigantic Wild Lupine
Both inside the interior and around the outskirts of Maine’s Acadia National Park, we were astonished to encounter gigantic wild lupine flowers growing all over the place in June. From open fields to front and back yards in neighborhoods, these gorgeous flowers resembled their much smaller cousins out West but were so tall you could get on your knees next to them and look the flowers in the eye (very fun for selfies). We absolutely loved these wildflowers and were shocked
Take time to smell the wild flowers
STOP AND SMELL THE WILDFLOWERS
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE SPRING 2026 | 26
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