June 9, 2016

Road Trip to Fairbanks, Day 2 (May 25th)

Mt. Bailey from Diamond Lake.
Can you see the vague rainbow?

Here are the pictures taken on Day 2 of our road trip.
We drove from Diamond Lake, OR to our friend's place in Kittitas, WA.
We enjoyed the diversity of the environment; the forest near Diamond Lake, the vast green field, huge valleys and sagebrush desert.


(Day 2)
Left Diamond Lake (6:55) - Diamond Lake Junction (7:26) - Gilchrist (8:15, posted the card to my mother in Japan) - La Pine (8:30) - Bend (9:00) - Redmond (9:36) - Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint (9:51 - 10:36, amazing view of crooked river and valley, and found a pretty yellow bird) - Madras (10:54 - 11:00) - Willowdale - Shaniko - Kent (12:11) - Grass Valley - More - Wasco - Biggs (12:56) - Crossing the Columbia River - Maryhill - Goldendale (13:21 - 13:48, snack at McDonald's) -  Toppenish (14:40) - Wapato - Union Gap (15:00) - Yakima (15:06) - Kittitas (16:00, We stayed at our friend's place).




Still some snow left.


Collinsia grandiflora


giant blue-eyed Mary




Viola purpurea (Goosefoot Violet). 
This violet was growing right by the highway from Diamond Lake.

Viola purpurea (Goosefoot Violet). 

Viola purpurea (Goosefoot Violet).
The backside of the upper petals is purplish brown. 

Viola purpurea (Goosefoot Violet). 
It has interestingly shaped leaves.

 I knew that Lupinus is the quite common flower in America.
We kept seeing all the way from Oregon through Washington, and Canada to Alaska.

Purshia tridentata (Bitterbrush).

There was alpaca farm.



The canyon at Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint.

There are couple of old bridges and a railway bridge.

A kind of ground squirrel grooming himself.

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint.

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint.

Lots of vultures were flying at the canyon.
Can you see three of them here?

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint.

Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture).  

Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture). 

Icterus bullockii (Bullock's Oriole).

We found another robin here.

 


Erigeron linearis (Desert Yellow Daisy).
They were making big patches here and there in sagebrush desert.

Eriogonum sphaerocephalum (Round-Headed Desert Buckwheat).


A kind of Lipinus.

Lupines are everywhere!

Eriogonum thymoides (Thyme Buckwheat).


 


Vast........

After the vastness of the green and sand beige fields,
we saw lots of windmills.

We were entering the rocky canyon area before getting to the Columbia River.

The Columbia River was so huge!

The Columbia River.

Now entering the windmill zone!

The clouds and blue sky and sagebrush fields.


Amazing clouds...  I just kept taking pictures of clouds and blue sky from our running car.


The huge canyon was beside the road. 



We were getting closer to the junction to Kittitas.

Snowy peaks.

 
 

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