<p>My daughter and I decided on a short walk through the Grand Forest East on Sunday to look for signs of spring. Along the way we found what my daughter is calling a “yellow pine cone” growing under some ferns. I have no idea what this is and haven’t been able to find something similar in either my wildflower or mushroom guides.</p>

<p>After returning from my <a href="/2011/07/09/royal-basin-trail/">trip</a> my daughter and I decided a day of <a href="https://www.geocaching.com/play">geocaching</a> was in order. We went to the Grand Forest to look for a couple of new caches.</p>

<p>My daughter and I enjoyed a great hike in the woods this morning and happened upon a new wildflower for us: <em>Monotropa uniflora</em>, also known as Ghost Plant or Indian Pipe. Through the otherwise dark and green forest these flowers really popped out against the ground. At first I thought they were some sort of candystick or pinesap like I saw on my hike to <a href="/2008/07/18/heather-park-trail-an-enchanted-forest-and-views/">Heather Park</a> but closer inspection showed otherwise. The…