The girls and I took a drive up Boulder Creek last week, to see how far we could get before hitting snow. It was farther than I expected and we stopped short of having to stop and went for a walk in the burned forest. We will be hiking in those mountains sooner rather than later.
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.
My Everyday Photos 