2021.5.9. Another day for flowers in central WA

5/9, Sunday. Partly sunny. I was picked up ~8:30am. We headed to Whiskey Dick Ridge first. Followed the direction on WTA, and drove in ~half a mile with big ditches to a large flat spot with 5-6 other cars. One car parked at the entrance by Vantage Rd. Walked along the road for another ~half a mile, dotted with narrowleaf goldenweed and lupine. Met a group of elderly birders with large scopes. Some hardened muddy footprints of elk. Bitterbush was blooming profusly (otherwise, they look like sagebrush), giving off a faint fragrance. A favorite of deer/elk.

Very dry and open. Sagebush stepp. We saw this hut from afar from the dirt road, and headed down there. Odd, all it sheltered is a rusty stove. There might be seasonal creek nearby in winter, kinda of in a shallow ditch. Just north of this is a rocky section. Lots of whitetop on the way. We walked gingerly, for fear of disturbing a snake. Found my first bitterroot this year. What a delicate flower.

One objective to hike here is Simpson's hedgehog cactus. We only found 2 in bloom. Hot pink. Elevation here is barely 3000', a little low for that cactus. There are more, but not very abundant. The top of the ridge is very nice. View of the wind turbines to the west (a little bit of Teanaway mountains too), Columbia River to the east. More flowers, especially cushion buckwheat in a variety of colors. Both hooker and carey (or arrowleaf) balsamroot were on their last leg. Lupine too was seeding. Gairdner pensemon provided the most purple right now. It's named after Meredith Gairdner. Other flowers in bloom were: threadleaf phacelia, larkspur, yarrow, Thompson's paintbrush, bighead clover, fernleaf and nine leaf lomatium, some pink fleabane, large-flowered brodiaea, Hooker's onion, showy phlox, tidytips. A lot of sheep droppings, but didn't see any animal. Thank god, didn't see any tick or snake either.

On our way down, met a 3 generation family with a dog. Didn't meet anyone else during our time in the area: I like it. At the trailhead, only our car. They probably parked by Wild Horse Wind Farm. They host public tours before COVID.

Our second hike is short and sweet. The baldy summit is like a garden right now: covered with thyme buckwheat of different colors (a sour smell). Lots of bitterroot here too. I decided not to name the trail, so not to draw more people. It's already quite busy. The ridge is also flanked by flowers, especially showy phlox. The lupine here is more pink than purple. We sat here for a long time. Clouds moved in, and a few rain drops fell.

Gave up the 3rd hike, we went home early with this buckwheat image eched in our mind. A grand finish.