I Shall Call It...Mini Superbloom

The Logan Creek Trail (part of the Sacramento NWR Complex) is in bloom!

This beautiful trail is open now through June 30 and is a great spot to get photos of a mini superbloom. We were the only ones there, so it was wonderful to get to enjoy all this color without fighting a crowd.

It never even crossed my mind to get some close-up pics of the flowers to see what kind they were. I guess I was too busy goofing off...

Let's go on an adventure!

Butterfly Heaven

🦋🦋🦋

I have never seen so many butterflies in one place before!

Our walk through the Pine Creek Unit of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge was absolutely magical. When we first arrived, we were immediately greeted by a large black butterfly. Delighted, I rushed to get a photo before it fluttered away. Little did I know, we would encounter hundreds more along the trail.

According to Google Lens, they are either California Pipevine Swallowtails or Black Swallowtails (or maybe we even saw some of both?). I'm going to have to brush up on my butterfly identification, that's for sure.

They were really a joy to see and there were several times we thought they might land on us. How amazing to be able to reach out and almost be able to catch one on your hand!

I'm so grateful to have been there at the right time and experience these beautiful pollinators at work.

I'll post pics of the trail itself, just as soon as I finish sorting through them all...

Let's go on an adventure!

The Perfect Landscape

It's so wonderful to see snow on the foothills!

(Sacramento NWR auto tour)

Let's go on an adventure!

Yellow Blooms

I couldn't help but notice this beautiful bush blooming across from the entrance at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex visitor's center. According to Google Lens, it's a Flannel Bush. So pretty!

Can't wait to check out the new visitor's center when it's all finished!

Let's go on an adventure!

Hello again!

Well, it's been a minute since I've posted...

After losing 95 pounds, I figured it was time for a new profile pic and to reintroduce myself. I am a romance author who loves nature, hiking, yoga, and birds. One of my favorite things to do is to go birding at my local wildlife refuges here in the beautiful Sacramento Valley. Living smack-dab in the middle of the Pacific Flyway means that we have a variety of wonderful birds all throughout the year to enjoy and photograph. Here on Vaughn the Road, I focus mainly on the scenery, but you can find all of my bird-related pics over at Wings and Daydreams.

In addition to posting about my adventures here on this blog, I do upload videos on YouTube and post photos on Instagram, so be sure to stop by and say hi! In the coming weeks, you can look forward to pics of colorful wildflowers from a mini superbloom we found, pretty plants growing along our favorite auto tour, the lush green of the wetlands in spring, and an amazing walk we had through hundreds of butterflies.

Where is your favorite place to explore that's not too far from your home?

Your fellow nature enthusiast,

Rachelle Vaughn

Let's go on an adventure!

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge ↔ Auto Tour

The early bird gets the auto tour all to themselves...

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Let's go on an adventure!

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge ↔ December Birding

Sunrise birding at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge...

For all of my bird photography, please visit Wings and Daydreams!

Let's go on an adventure!