RHH's photos with the keyword: manastash

Phlox speciosa is a common wildflower in our region. The flowers are usually pink, but white flowers can be found as well. These were photographed along the Ray Westberg Trail to Manatash Ridge in eastern Washington.

I believe I have this identified correctly, but would appreciate being corrected if anyone knows better. This little guy was photographed in eastern Washington near Manastash Ridge and at the beginning of the Ray Westberg trail.

Photographed near Manastash Ridge on an old birdhouse. We were starting a hike up the ridge and walking down a lane from our car to the trailhead when we spotted this little beauty. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2011/05/manastash-ridge.html

I believe this is Harsh Paintbrush, Castilleja hispida, but I find the Indian Paintbrushes very difficult to tell apart. These were photographed on Manastash Ridge south of Ellensburg, Washington, on the Ray Westberg trail. Manastash and Umtanum Ridges, which lie between the Kittitas Valley and Yakima, are a wildflower paradise in the spring. The imbedded photos show some of the views from the ridge and some of the wildflower meadows.

Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, is one of our most spectacular wildflowers. Blooming in rocky and dry areas its leafless flower stems with their huge blossoms in shades of pink and white seem to appear like magic from the ground. The name "rediviva" meaning "restored to life" refers to this. These were photographed along the Ray Westburg trail on Manastash Ridge in eastern Washington.

Manastash Ridge is one of series of very high ridges (over 6000 feet at their highest), that run west to east and a little south for about 50 miles in central Washington, separating the city of Ellensburg from Yakima and the Yakima Valley. The ridges are very dry, sagebrush country, but are very beautiful in the spring with an abundance of wildflowers. On May 13th on our way home from Spokane we hiked one of our favorite trails on Manastash Ridge, the Ray Westbrook Trail, to see the early wildflowers. We were a little earlier than last year and the flowers were not yet as abundant as they will be in a few weeks, but it was a beautiful day and a good hike. This photo was taken part way up the ridge early in the morning (we started hiking at about 5:30 am). It looks east over some of the farmland below the ridge and shows some of the character of the country, very different from the part of the state in which we live, but not without a beauty of its own, and one of our favorite places for a short hike or a day out. A blog post describing our hike and with an abundance of pictures can be found here: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2011/05/manastash-r... .

These were photographed on Manastash Ridge (see previous posts) where they were growing in profusion. My wildflower book lists them as uncommon but they certainly were not in this location. They are also known as Brodieaea douglasii, the Large-flowered Brodiaea. They belong to the lily family, are perennial, grow to about a foot and a half in height and bloom in the spring. A diary of our hike and many more pictures are here: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2011/05/manastash-r... .