Mountain laurel

I’ve been working in the Bandy Creek Visitor Center, learning the ropes and figuring out what the usual questions are that I need to know how to answer. Today on the way home I stopped at the East Rim overlook to check on the mountain laurel. It looked about the same – mostly buds, just a couple of blossoms starting to open. The light was different, though, since it was early morning when I was there before – and the view of the gorge was, of course, spectacular!

Not sure what this bush is.

I am hoping this is in the raspberry family...

This is Lyre-leaved sage. It is all over the place, anywhere sunny and grassy. It's actually in the mint family.

I noticed several of these on the pine tree near the parking lot. I'm guessing it's something like the "spittlebugs" I've seen in Missouri, where the insect lays its eggs and surrounds them with that foam to protect them.