Misery and the Blues

Well, I went and did it: a camping trip to the Blue Mountains of southeast Washington. I spent two nights at the Misery Spring Campground, which is roughly thirty miles south of Pomeroy. For the most part, I explored scenery along the roads near the campground. The sunny weather, while certainly welcome for tent camping, precluded much in the way of extensive day hiking - I needed to be situated to take pictures in the early morning and late evening. Thankfully, the forest roads did not disappoint, and the traffic was quite light; the road south from the campground in particular was very quiet made for a nice walk. In fact, it was from that road that I saw a herd of elk! First time I've seen elk in the wild!

The Blue Mountains are different from anywhere I've been. In terms of flora, they remind me a bit of the east slopes of the Cascades, with maybe a drier assortment of plants. The terrain is quite dissimilar, though, with broader ridges and plateaus and extensive river canyons. I'm hoping to do some reading this summer about the natural and cultural history of the Blue Mountains. In terms of culture, I'm sure the region has been and is significant to Native tribes, although I'm not familiar with specifics; I do know that U.S. settlers on the Oregon Trail dreaded the range, and sheep and cattle grazing began on the 19th century.

I've gotten slowed down identifying the plants from this trip. First, some of them are difficult for me as a nonspecialist to distinguish, such as varieties of aster. Second, my guides don't cover this region well. But I have at least a general idea of what most of them are, and may make some more specific discoveries and updates as time goes on.

First is the big prize - the view overlooking the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness from a viewpoint near the campground; in this image, the view is roughly southwest over the First Creek drainage. The flowers in the foreground are penstemon. The polarization of the sky is a bit uneven, but I think I can lighten the upper left part of the image. F/22.

Next are a couple views from Forest Road 40 over the Tucannon drainage. The first in this pair features paintbrush as the most prominent flower; the second, penstemon. F/22 in both cases.

The next pair consists of views from the same stretch of road early in the morning, when there was some interesting pink color in the sky. In present JPEG form, the color shows up better in the first image than in the second, although I think I could bring it out in both. F/22 in both cases.

The last view is looking more or less south from the viewpoint toward the Wallowa Mountains. F/18.

Now, a few landscapes other than the views. First is a view of a nice clump of paintbrush in an area that appears to have burned not long ago. F/29.

Next is a meadow of penstemon and other flowers. F/25.

Lastly, a few flower closeups. The first is aster. Note the rich color of the sky - one interesting aspect of photography at high altitudes is that the polarizing filter works more effectively. In some situations, you can make a clear sky look practically black. F/8.

Next is a penstemon. F/4.

Next is what I believe to be a buckwheat of some kind. F/4.

Finally, an opening flower that I haven't been able to identify but might be a knapweed. If so, it's likely an invasive plant, but I think it's cool picture. F/4.2.