Selah Butte — Sunday, May. 16, 2010

Central Washington > Yakima

I took a short hike on Selah Butte this afternoon. I usually stop just inside the fence and hike along the edge of the rim on the west, but the wildflowers were mostly gone, so I drove up near the top where the wildflowers are much more abundant. The road is very rough. Near the top of the butte and beyond that wildflower variety and bloom is excellent. A few Simpson's (hedgehog) cactus are blooming but they are about gone. Desert parsleys (mostly nine-leaved desert parsley, Gardner's penstemen, and theyme leaved buckwheat dominate the bloom, but upland larkspur, yellow desert daisy, bitterroot, Hooker's balsamroot, low hawksbeard, lupine (bingen?), Douglas buckwheat, and others that don't come to mind now are blooming. Many are past their peak, but bitteroot blooms are few and far between, but thousands of buds about the burst are present and will make a beautiful display within a few days. Saw one rubber boa and one gopher snake. No tick yet. Although partly cloudy this afternoon the weather was beautiful, and the soft light was excellent for wildflower photos.