July found the Nelson family of New York City involved in one of their favorite activities: traveling the scenic byways of America on a coast-to-coast trip in search of wild orchids and adventure. Over the last 10 years I have learned of many great orchid and wildflower sites all across the country and we would revisit a number of them on this trip.
A site for Platanthera leucophaea in Ohio had at least 50 prime-blooming specimens but the 40 mph winds and rain made photography almost impossible.
The Snowy Range in Wyoming and the Uinta and Bear River Ranges in Utah yielded some great finds; a colony of Cypripedium fasciculatum seemed stressed by the vagaries of the weather.
Drought-stricken California had some surprising pockets of resilience; the Sierra Nevada Range, Monterey and the Big Sur Coast as well as Yosemite were all well worth visiting this year. Three endemic orchid species were seen in California: Platanthera yadonii; Platanthera colemanii and Platanthera yosemitensis.
Interesting hybrids between Platanthera tescamnis and Platanthera dilatata were found in an orchid-rich fen on the shore of Mono Lake, on the east side of the Sierras.
Our homeward trek took us along a less-traveled southern trajectory through Nevada's remote Great Basin National Park, Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park and a grand finale in the rain-soaked (this year) mountains of northern New Mexico before the final 3 day push to home.
Three photographic devices were used: an SLR film camera; a point and shoot digital and and the ubiquitous IPhone. I like all three for different reasons.

Orchid species list (in chronological order)

1) Platanthera leucophaea (Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid)
2) Cypripedium fasciculatum (Clustered Lady's-Slipper)
3) Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis (Western Spotted Coralroot)
4) Corallorhiza wisteriana (Wister's Coralroot)
5) Corallorhiza striata (Striped Coralroot)
6) Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii (Vreeland's Striped Coralroot)
7) Goodyera oblongifolia (Giant rattlesnake Plantain)
8) Platanthera unalascensis (Alaskan Rein Orchid)
9) Neottia borealis (Northern Twayblade)
10) Platanthera dilatata var. dilatata (Bog Candle)
11) Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys (Bog Candle)
12) Platanthera yadonii (Yadon's Rein Orchid)
13) Platanthera colemanii (Coleman's Rein Orchid)
14) Platanthera sparsiflora (Sparse-flowered Bog Orchid)
15) Platanthera yosemitensis (Yosemite Bog Orchid)
16) Platanthera tescamnis (Intermountain Rein Orchid)
17) Epipactis gigantea (Stream Orchid)
18) Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata (Spotted Coralroot)
19) Platanthera aquilonis (Northern Green Bog Orchid)
20) Platanthera huronensis (Tall Northern Bog Orchid)
21) Neottia cordata var. nephrophylla (Heart-leaved Twayblade)

*Not all species seen were photographed.