May Trip Part 3: Fishtrap and Turnbull

The final full day of my mid-May trip was the only full day without rain. Furthermore, I'd spent the preceding day almost entirely indoors due to wet, windy weather. Accordingly, I planned two separate photography destinations for that final day: Hog Lake (I've also seen it labeled "Hog Canyon Lake") in the Fishtrap Recreation Area, and the Bluebird Trail in the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, both south of Cheney.

Hog Lake

First, a view of Hog Canyon Falls, with balsamroot flowers in the foreground. This composition is similar to one I made last year (first image in this post). This year, the sunlight was more filtered by clouds. As a result, the lighting is less dramatic in this year's version, but the terrain surrounding the falls is more clearly visible. F/20.

Next, a view of Hog Lake, with varieties of desert parsley (genus Lomatium) blooming in the foreground. F/20.

Here's another view of Hog Lake, with what I think might be red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) blooming in the foreground. I like the composition and lighting here, but there was a bit of distortion and loss of image quality in the distant trees at the very top of the image. F/18.

Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

After lunch, I hiked the Bluebird Trail in the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. I had hoped to do some photography from viewpoints along the auto tour route even later in the evening, but decided at the last minute to return to my motel room instead. This time, it wasn't rain that prompted me to cut the trip short, but the discovery of ticks on my body! The first one I noticed was visible on my neck, prompting further investigation that led to more discoveries. After returning to town, I continued to find ticks on my clothing and backpack throughout the evening. I'd been scrupulous about staying on the trail that day, so I will never know what I did to gather so many.

First, camas (Camassia quamash) blooming in the woods. F/6.3.

Next, an image of a wildflowers, mostly desert parsley (genus Lomatium), blooming in a small forest opening. I think this composition was more interesting in my mind's eye than it is in actuality; the sense of depth isn't very strong. Still, it might be worth at least seeing in print, and it gives a good depiction of the typical landscape along the Bluebird Trail. F/18.

That wraps up the images from my May trip. The next post, which will hopefully be up soon, will feature a trip to the Grove of the Patriarchs and Silver Falls in Mount Rainier National Park!