Mariposa Lillies, Calochortus sp, send up their flowers after the weather gets hot. Their leaves have long since withered when the beautiful pink to lavendar flowers open. They are a real gem to find amongst the already drying grasses. I found these above our house on a short dog walk a couple evenings ago.
Here it is – mid-summer and I’ve barely been out on any hikes. That needs to change. Yesterday I had a window of opportunity and drove up to Harts Pass. It’s a rugged and narrow road and if you are afraid of heights, you’d best not look out the window. The drop down to the Methow River is precipitous, to say the least. One particularly bad stretch is called Dead Horse Point in honor of a string of pack horses that went over the edge back in the days before there was a road. The trail and the eventual road were put in to service the mining camps and the old and now abandoned, town of Barron, headquarters of gold mining in the Harts Pass area. It’s hard to imagine that at one time there were 1000’s of miners, a store, and other components of a rough community so high in the mountains. Now it’s primarily a recreation area and access to the Pasayten Wilderness. The road ends just below the lookout at Slate Peak, about 7400′ elevation. This is the highest maintained road in Washington. Snow has not all melted so I parked about a mile and a half below the lookout and with Luna, walked to the top. The views were stunning and wildflowers abundant. The temperature was 77. It was very refreshing. In Winthrop it was 97.
My what a big tongue you have!
I have forgotten more wildflower names than I know these days.
A yellow violet, maybe Viola glabella
One of the phloxes
Slate Peak in the distance. You can see a similar view in this post from last November 7 at the beginning of winter
Luna looking over the edge. She’s not afraid of heights. You can see Mount Baker in NW Washington on the left side of the image.
Heading down and looking back at the lookout. You can see part of the Pacific Crest Trail down below.
Nice thing to do after a hike.
Caltha sp. ?
Anemone occidentalis
Buttercups, Ranunculus sp.
A burned silver forest
These yellow glacier lillies, Erythronium grandiflorum, bloom immediately following snow melt.
Paintbrush, Castilleja sp.
Another Phlox sp.
Monkeyflower, Mimulus sp.
I am learning a new camera – one of the mirrorless micro 4/3 models and finding it not the most intuitive thing I’ve ever held. Hopefully images will improve with practice. Wish me luck. I may return to carrying the large heavy DSLR although I’d really like to cut down on the weight I take hiking with me.
In 2006, the Tripod wildfire raged through Okanogan County. Between late July and snowfall, it burned more than 175,000 acres of forest lands. Unlike the fires currently burning in Colorado and Montana, it did not burn any homes. Six years later, regeneration is producing a new kind of forest with wildlife friendly snags, wildflowers and new growth of willows and aspens. I spent part of Monday afternoon walking through a tiny bit of the old burn listening to birds and small mammals and admiring the flowers.
Burnt snags reflected in a small pond
Roger Lake – some trees survived in the boggy edges of this lake and it continues to be a great place for birds and other wildlife
Snags criss cross on the trail
Bog orchid grows in a wet spot
lupine
Spent flowers remind me of the fire
Lupine bud
Lupine from above
Scarlet gilia
Wild rose
Penstemon
Here is an article about the fire. And here is an article about a study on the effects of the fire.
I confess. I like Instagram. Ok. It’s alright to like Instagram. And sometimes it is just easier to carry the phone rather than a camera or both.
Lots of small wildflowers blooming on our hill now. The Balsamroot and Lupine are past their peak at this elevation. Now, there are more blues to be seen, some pinks and yellows too.
Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva. On our hillside, it is much whiter, less pink than in other places, such as Patterson Mountain
Cat’s ear lily, Calachortus lyalli
A yellow violet (an oxymoron of a name), Viola sp. I don’t know which one.
I’ve always referred to this as a Brodiaea but looking at my field guide, I think its name has been changed to Triteleia grandiflora
Evidence that our part time neighbors celebrated the holiday weekend riding up and down our road on quads while drinking and tossing their litter around.
More bitterroot
And tired dogs.
Anniversary!
One year ago today we were married on a hillside surrounded by friends and family! Yesterday in celebration, we revisted the hillside and our love for each other. Like last year, it was cloudy but this time it did not rain! There are more wildflowers this year. We had an excellent hike to the wedding site, not exactly the way we planned but still it was nice. Then up and over a hill to Aspen Lake and back for a nice loop.
This is a good year for balsamroot
A pretty flower with an unfortunate name – death camas
At the wedding site, Ken reads a poem he wrote for our first anniversary
And the card that he made
A type of paintbrush?
What if all of our wedding photos were made in this style?
lupine
Larkspur and balsamroot
My Everyday Photos 