June 10, 2016

Road Trip to Fairbanks, Day 3 (May 26th)

Calochortus macrocarpus (Green-Banded Mariposa-Lily).
We found this at Ginkgo Petrified Forest.

Here is the pictures taken on Day 3.
Actually we just stayed at one of our friends place in Kittitas, WA and he took us to many interesting places for couple of days.

(Day 3 - Ellensburg and Kittitas county area)
Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility - Ginkgo Petrified Forest - Olmstead Place in Kittitas.

Asclepias speciosa (Showy Milkweed).

Asclepias speciosa (Showy Milkweed). 
Our friend didn't pull out and kept this to show us.

Mt. Rainier from the yard of our friend in Kittitas.

Sayornis saya (Say's Phoebe).
They were nesting near the house of our friend.
They must be still young, so they stayed close to the house.

Mt. Rainier from Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility.

Another shot of Mt. Rainier.

Each windmill is so huge!


Interesting color in the sky. 
After seeing the windmills, we moved to Vantage and had lunch,
and then went to Ginkgo Petrified Forest.

A Dinosaur surrounded by petrified wood 
at the entrance of a gift shop near Vantage.

One of the sagebrush kinds.
Salvia dorrii (Purple Sage).

The vastness...sagebrush desert and the Columbia River, canyons and blue sky.
I was amazed with the dryness comparing to the humidity in Japan.

Erigeron filifolius (Threadleaf Fleabane).
There seems to be lots of similar kinds, so I am not sure about the identification of this flower.

Another kind of sagebrush...I think.

Calochortus macrocarpus (Green-Banded Mariposa-Lily).
I have seen this plant in the flower book which I bought last August in Ashland.
I was glad to see them.

Calochortus macrocarpus (Green-Banded Mariposa-Lily).

Calochortus macrocarpus (Green-Banded Mariposa-Lily).
The flower looks like a kind of tulip, but it has less petals than tulips.

Calochortus macrocarpus (Green-Banded Mariposa-Lily).
It seems pretty odd that they grow and bloom in the middle of the desert like this.

I think this one is a kind of sandwort, but I can't identify it.

A petrified Douglass Fir...It looked pretty fresh.

Calochortus macrocarpus (Green-Banded Mariposa-Lily)
with sagebrush.

We hiked around Ginkgo Petrified Forest. 
After hiking around, we moved to Olmstead place, a historic place in Kittitas.

The Olmstead Cabin built in 1875.

Here is the detail of the cabin.

Wonder what kind of bird is this...a kind of hawk?

The gardens were well-maintained.

The historic barn in this area has its own quilt on the exterior.

Kittitas is famous for its high quality Timothy hay.

Most of the Timothy hay is exported to Japan for horse racing thoroughbreds.

The irrigation with Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag, Ki-Shoubu). 
It reminds me of my home country.

Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag, Ki-Shoubu).
We can see them growing by the rice paddies in Japan, too.

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