Wildflower Chasers: Ditching the highway for off-road gems

Setting out on a mission to find a flower, means looking for them anywhere. Including walking through the dewy tall grass of a highway ditch early in the morning.

“There’s nothing like a good, rich ditch,” said wildflower chaser Kelly Povo, “This is the best road for that in Minnesota.”

Povo was joined by fellow chaser Phyllis Root on a recent hunt where they discovered a sea Cream Gentian. Their adventure took them to Highway 56 in Mower County, just southwest of Rochester. Cars and trucks quickly passed by, but it didn’t deter the two.

“Well, I’m so glad we saw this. I’m so glad we stopped. Thank you, Cream Gentian,” said Root.

Editor's note: MnDOT does not recommend parking on the side of the highway and in some cases it may be illegal to do so. Safety is the key concern, but they also caution not to dig, remove or mow anything on the state right of way.

You can listen to their full adventure by clicking the audio player above.

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