Natural History Wanderings

Greg Vaughn’s blog has a new wildflower report at    Columbia River Gorge Wildflower Report | Wanders & Wonders

Want to photograph wildflowers at their peak in the Columbia River Gorge? Now’s the time.

I’ve been wandering the Oregon side of The Gorge between Hood River and the Deschutes River the past few days, and just about all the regular known locations for wildflowers are looking very good right now.

In Hood River Valley, the apple trees in the orchards are covered with delicate white blossoms. The view from Panorama Point is quite striking with the trees in the lower valley looking frosted while Mount Hood still has a nice cap of snow. Orchards in the upper part of the valley will probably hit their peak in a week or so. Wander the backroads a bit with an eye to the north and you’ll find superb views of the orchards with majestic Mount Adams as a backdrop.

At The Nature Conservancy’s Tom McCall Preserve at Rowena Plateau, the balsamroot are absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn’t call it a carpet of color, but there are many areas with good, thick clumps of bright yellow blossoms in their prime. The lupine are just starting to show, so there is probably another couple of weeks of great conditions here for these showy favorites for landscape photography.

Further east, a short hike up river on the trails at Deschutes River State Recreation Area will lead to some nice views of lavendar lupine among the silvery sagebrush.

Over on the Washington side of the Gorge, the hills are alive. Not with the sound of music, but with a glorious carpet of bright yellow balsamroot and purple lupine just off Dalles Mountain Road in Columbia Hills State Park. Drive a little beyond the old ranch buildings for a stunning view across the fields of flowers to the Columbia River and distant Mount Hood.

Those of you who are really into wildflowers and macro photography will find several other species blooming in this area right now, and the bloom will continue through May, with peak times depending on location and elevation.

See a good photo of what is happening now and follow his blog at: Wanders & Wonders.