RHH's photos with the keyword: manastash ridge

This interesting wildflower belongs to the Borage family. The plant is covered with spiny hairs and uncurls as the flowers open. The photo was taken on our hike up Manastash Ridge. See ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r... for further details.

At least in the open areas we hiked on Manastash Ridge, the Ponderosa Pine was the only tree and they were scattered over the ridge. Most of our hike was in the sun, therefore, and I suffered some sunburn as a result. More pictures and the story of our hike can be found on my blog at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r... .

Thursday and Friday my wife and I managed to get away to do some hiking. We left very early Thursday morning and drove to Manastash Ridge, southwest of Ellensburg, Washington, on the east side of the Cascades. There, on Thursday, we hiked the Ray Westberg Trail and the Boyscout Trail. The day was sunny and warm, though it was raining west of the Cascades. This photo was taken from the Ray Westberg Trail about halfway up the ridge and shows one of the Ponderosa Pines growing on the ridge. The area was like a huge flower garden with Buckwheat, Pussytoes, Alliums, Larkspurs, Balsamroots, Penstemon, Phlox, Irises, Paintbrush, Salsify, Lupines, Tritellias, Asters, Groundsels and Arnicas all in full bloom. The highlights, though, were the Bitterroots, (Lewisia rediviva) which were blooming profusely on nearly every patch of rocky soil. We went on Friday to hike in the Cascades, but that's another story and another series of pictures. I'll be posting more pictures from both hikes and also adding a new post to my blog as soon as possible, but this will have to do for today.

We found these growing the meadow near the place we parked our car before hiking up Manastash Ridge and then found them again in several place on our hike. More pictures and the story of our hike can be found on my blog at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r... .

This was the best I could do in trying to get a shot of this beautiful bird even though this was shot with a 300mm lens. More pictures and the story of our hike can be found on my blog at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r... .

This was taken near the top of the ridge and shows the abundance of wildflowers growing on the ridge. The flowers in this photo are primarily Lupines, Arrowleaf Balsamroots, and Cushion Phlox. More pictures and the story of our hike can be found on my blog at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r... .

Taken in situ on the way up Manastash Ridge in Eastern Washington near Ellensburg. Further details of our hike in that area can be found at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r...

This photo is typical of the amazing flowers we saw on our recent hike in Eastern Washington. These are mainly Lupines and Phlox with some Balsamroots here and there.

This is the flower we were looking for on our recent hike up Manastash Ridge. It flowers with no apparent leaves in rocky soil, the buds and then the flowers lying prostrate on the ground. We found it first in rocky areas along the edge of the ridge and then in abundance near the road at the top of the ridge. The name "rediviva" (restored to life) apparently refers to the fact that it goes dormant after flowering and then reappears like magic in the spring. We found it ranging in color from white to deep pink and spent nearly an hour taking photos of it at the top. More pictures of this beautiful flower and the story of our hike can be found on my blog at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r... .

Most of our hike up Manastash Ridge was to the music of the Western Meadowlark. His sweet song can be ...

Here are a few more pictures from our Manastash Ridge Hike. These two flowers were often growing together in the shadier areas of the Boyscout Trail, the trail we followed down from the ridge. The Slender Woodland Star is Lithophragma tenellum and the Upland Larkspur is Delphinium nutallianum. Further details of our hike can be found at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r...

It is one of Washington's most beautiful wildflowers and was photographed on Manastash Ridge.

The name Penstemon refers to the five irregular petals at the opening of the flower tube. This particular Penstemon is a small plant with very large flowers and was found growing in the open areas at the top of Manastash Ridge in eastern Washington near Ellensburg..

White Campion, Silene latifolia alba, is not native to Washington but has established itself in many different areas. Interestingly, the male and female flowers are found on separate plants, though they look very much alike. We found these along the roadside near where we parked our car at the beginning of our hike, further details of which can be found at: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r...

This colorful plant, also known as Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, is not native to the state of Washington but has naturalized in many areas. Its common name refers to its habit of closing its flowers early in the day. This plant was photographed on Manastash Ridge southwest of Ellensburg, Washington. It is another in the series of photos I've posted of our recent hike there. For more photos and a description of our hike see: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/06/manastash-r...