Potholes Wildlife Area, Cowiche Canyon Preserve — Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2019

I spent the last 3 days near Potholes Reservoir Area, Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and Palouse Falls. I'll put in separate reports for my earlier days later but today I'll focus on time spent near Frenchman Hills and Cowiche Canyon. 

This morning I spent time watching sandhill cranes near the Potholes and Frenchman Hills followed by a short trip to Cowiche. The cranes are beautiful birds. I could observe them for hours. I saw 2 separate groups grazing for food.  Their wingspans are huge, their height so tall and their colors gorgeous. After watching the social networking of the cranes, I drove to Cowiche Canyon to check on the wildflowers. The flowers are plentiful and covering much of the upper trails. I parked at the Summitview trailhead and walked the Summitview route and proceeded down toward the canyon. I ran out of time to make it to the bottom of the canyon but the flowers I saw were just beautiful. Lots blooming now. The weather was warm with intermittent clouds. I saw only a few people during the time I was there.