We drive over Snoqualmie Pass,
then we motor down,
and down,
and down
to the wider view,
on the other side of the mountains.
The dry side.
We’re headed to Umtanum Creek Recreation Area,
a shrub-steppe habitat of dry hills, sage, and rattlesnakes.
Bighorn sheep are said to roam the craggy tops;
in the creek’s deep crease
willows flourish,
butterflies lilt,
and wildflowers cycle through bloom, seed, dormancy, and bloom again…
Umtanum Creek’s clear water feeds the wide Yakima River,
which in turn feeds the Columbia River,
which empties into the Pacific.
Today the water is cold but the sun is hot –
perfect for a raft trip down the Yakima.
But we’re interested in a dry place, so
we head across Yakima river
on a bridge
of creaky wood
and swaying steel.
The creek’s final course flows quietly
under a cool, shady thicket. We could follow it –
walk up the creek trail,
but…
Remember last year? We walked up the creek and
after that we were curious about that hill, so
we trudged up
a steep path
but we were tired and
we didn’t get very far.
Why not do the hill path first this time?
Later we can cool our heels
in the creek.
It’s hot. Steep. Rock-strewn.
No one else is
on the trail.
We have 3 bottles of water,
little bags of nuts and raisins, a chocolate –
we’re already thirsty.
I drink in the open landscape, the
way rolling hills
are clothed in subtle shades of umber and gold,
olive and gray,
and the creek below
weaves a frothy emerald path
through the canyon.
I sense movement ahead on the rocks to my left.
– amazing –
a bighorn sheep!
I’ve never seen one before – didn’t expect to see one today.
Don’t you have to be miles from the road to see this kind of wildness? Don’t you have to come at dawn, or dusk?
(Oh, would a long lens be good right about now!)
Just one ram,
and so nobly beautiful!
Surprise – instead of running away he makes eye contact. He poses on the rocks,
then climbs down closer.
I walk a few steps up the trail,
and he steps nimbly, almost aggressively,
towards us.
It’s lamb season, so we realize this may not be safe –
time to back off!
I force myself to step backwards on the trail,
not wanting to divert my gaze.
One last look –
can you see him there still?
King of the Hill…
It’s all good though. He has his turf.
We had the privilege of meeting him,
in his world
for a few electric minutes.
Back down along the creek, a rattlesnake
slithers slowly away
through rock shadows –
No matter I didn’t get a usable shot – I’m glad it’s gone.
Again I’m distracted by butterflies and wildflowers,
the curl of dry grass,
yarrow with its fair share of insect life,
tall grass ornamented with tiny yellow flowers,
wild roses
announcing their pinkness
amidst the green.
Finally, the water up close:
feet cool off:
delicious!
Back on the road
heading down Yakima Canyon,
we glimpse strange basalt rock stacks painted
lichen red and yellow,
like primitive sculpture, or maybe an artist’s recent work
(how’s that for site-specific?).
And then more luck – we’ve gone from bighorn sheep and rattlesnakes
to a vintage ’51 Pontiac Chieftain,
looking very at home, even on the four lane!
We pull off so I can photograph the plain, graceful hills in late afternoon light.
A Western meadowlark sings somewhere out there – we can’t see it.
Telephone poles
and weathered fence posts
march crookedly up and down:
imaginary ideas of here
and there
and
who-owns-what
pasted on the hills.
We know there is no ownership.
I imagine the poles as dashes – pencil marks across
a manuscript
pale and dry as paper,
but ever changing.
Heading back towards home,
the Cascade Range appears in the distance
like a mirage.
Let’s stop at the top –
I want to breathe in the difference between
the dry place
and the fiercely steep, snowy place above,
the mountains with their towering trees and
spring flowers, still
blooming
as if it were April.
We stop briefly at Snoqualmie Pass,
walk to a smidgeon of the Pacific Crest Trail –
(hikers pass through here on their 2,650 mile trip from Mexico to California).
How’s that for inspiring?
Yes, trillium are still blooming here.
This is one of the reasons we left New York and moved out here two years ago –
truly wild land is more accessible to us now.
In the course of a day
we can drive from
June to April
and back to June again,
from wet to dry to wet again
from lush to arid to lush again!
Yes, how’s that for inspiration.
Wonderful post, Lynn! Funny about the bighorn sheep. We see them often in the winter right by I-70 near Georgetown, Colorado which is on the way up to Eisenhower Tunnel and the Continental Divide – mostly small flocks of ewes. But that ram is magnificent!
I’m glad you liked the post. I guess it’s like a lot of wildlife – if you’re in the right place, you can be assured of seeing certain animals regularly but in many places it’s not so common.
What fun! A bighorn sheep is an uncommon sight and a special treat…
Especially in the middle of the day like that. It was exciting!
I know their fondness of desert rivers… such dignity and poise
I have to come back. I just scrolled down through the most jaw-droppingly beautiful photographs. The flowers stole my heart, and the forest, and the poetic narrative. So beautifully photographed and shared, Lynn.
Thank you!
The change from the west to the east side of the mountains never ceases to amaze me. As you said… driving from June to April and back again! Great, fun post with fantastic shots to go with the narrative. The bighorn was a special bonus.
You know the phenomenon well. I’m glad you enjoyed this – I have to admit, it was a bit of work! 🙂
A wonderful and varied collection of images Lynn! Well done. I enjoy visiting the lea side of our Coast Mountains which is very similar. It is amazing how quickly the landscape changes due to less rainfall. You have captured it beautifully.
Yes, you, like Gunta, know how different the world can be in a few miles, or degrees of longitude (not to mention altitude). Good to hear from you.
You have the best of both worlds there! I enjoyed taking this hike with you! Your photos capture the beauty. That ’51 Pontiac looked very much home on that stretch of road. Good shot of the “king of the of the hill”. Happy Trails, Blue (Lynn)
Thank you very much – and how did I figure out the make and model? Blow up the photo and take an educated guess, then start googling – it didn’t take long to find it!
Sob! Do I have to say anything when all I want to do is enjoy the jaw-dropping beauty and silence? You are so gifted Lyn!
Hardly! But I appreciate hearing from you and I know, really I know, what it feels like being in New York City, loving it, but longing too for a good dose of wildness. And don’t think I don’t long for the energy of the city, too! (And the smiles, the attitude, the pastries…)
No hardly about it!
I so understand how you feel about where you are and what you left behind, that horrible tug between wanting to be in two places at the same time – I battled it for years (i.e. wasted a lot of worry time!) before making my peace. It wasn’t as though one place was better than other, that was the problem, I loved both. And how lovely for you with that NY spirit of yours to be enjoying such wonderful wildness. And sharing it so generously with your words and pictures!
Beautiful pictures – amazing colors!
Thank you Meg!
Wow, what a brilliant post! Now we can see why you left New York, as you explained here. The beauty is astounding! Jean & Alex
I was always torn between the two extremes…but this is working for me now. The beauty is astounding, yes.
Love this post… You have just outlined my home 🙂 The 2nd shot, and the expanse of the sky/land is tremendous and then the diversity of the shots continue. The Big Horn sheep is awesome (I’ve yet to shoot one…), and when you enter the desert country I really feel at home (I grew up in Pendleton, OR). And then I see one of my favorite flowers, Trillium ~ introduced many years ago by a great friend in Seattle during a hike. Wonderful post!
How interesting to read your comment. Over here with all the tall Douglas firs, one doesn’t get that expansive feeling too often, but it’s only a few hours away. Trilliums – so pure in their presentation and aesthetic. As a child in upstate NY I loved to wander into the woods behind our house and look for them – even then they were becoming rare there (many years ago) so it’s really gratifying to see them growing so often and freely out here in the PNW.
There is something so refreshing about the expanse of the plains when traveling east of the Cascades. One of my favorite drives is from Seattle to Eastern Oregon, such a diverse set of landscapes. Cheers!
Wow BB, quite the road trip! And quite a change from NY to the west! We did a similar trip the year we retired and I still remember amazement at how vast and open it was. Always makes me wonder why people live in clusters in the big city! Great post.
Yes Tina, a little different from the east coast, be it SC or NY! You have been so many places, I am envious, but you know, it’s all good because you’re so generous with your trip reports! 🙂
Wow! I would have been in heaven on this journey….and you have a gift of blending words and images.
Oh, that’s so good to hear, music to my ears…it is pretty wonderful out here in the Pacific northwest, as long as you can squeeze a little time from work and get away!
Super collection. Thanks for taking me with you!
Glad to have you!
Lovely countryside pics, and I love that old Pontiac. 🙂
Oh yes! It was mighty fine!
That’s freaking awesome for inspiration! Such a beautiful travelogue, Lynn…wonderful narration/verse to accompany the compelling images. I wish I were there. 🙂
Wow, great to hear my friend…and you are in a wonderful place yourself, but it’s always greener, isn’t it? 🙂
Well, yeah…literally greener! 🙂
What a wonderful set of photographs Lynn and your words are wonderful as ever!
Thank you Chill – I appreciate your thoughts. The words don’t come so easily…but it’s worth working on, isn’t it?
Your photographs are always a pleasure to behold, but this post was beyond all expectations. Loved every minute of the adventure.
Fantastic! You are in a dry place yourself, and I always enjoy your images, I really do. You have such a way of weaving together words and pictures.
thank you very much, bluebrightly
What treat to just sit here and feel transported to that vast wilderness and space Lynn by way of your photos and your descriptions which just leap off the page .. what a gift you have there .
I particularly love the Bighorn Ram eyeballing you and those lovely colourful lichen stacks 🙂
Thank you…I’ve been unable to respond to many comments lately. Always good to hear form you!
Fantastic post, phenomenal images! No need for me to travel when I can live vicariously through your beautiful posts!
You have some beautiful photos! In other posts I love the close ups of the flowers, but I think the bighorn sheep is what steals this show.
Oh, if only you were there! 🙂 Thanks!
I’m really likin’ that old suspension bridge and your tilted-horizon image of the fence and telephone poll.
Thanks John – the fence post ones are the ones I think are best, so I’m glad to hear that.
First I had to look up Umtanum Creek 🙂
Then, while I was scrolling through the photos, and before I got to the one with the rafts, I was saying out loud “I NEED to float the Yakima”.
Wonderful post!
🙂 I love to look up places, too – that’s perfect. Thank you.