The forecast for the 4th of July was gray and damp as expected. The Cascades were providing a rain shadow for Eastern Washington so we packed up the car and headed east again for some sun and flowers.

We headed for Ellensburg. This time we drove up Reecer Creek which is north of I-90 from the Taneum area that we explored a couple of weeks ago. The traffic was light and it did not take the little hybrid long to get to Ellensburg. Okay… it is a little slow to get over the pass in our little hybrid but we got to Reecer Creek Road in about 2 hours.

We could tell the wind was strong. The grass and trees were waving as we drove back west towards Table Mountain. Reecer Creek Road leads to the top of Table Mountain and Lion Rock. The road passes through timothy hay farms in the Kittitas Valley before becoming one lane and starting to climb.

The vistas opened up as we climbed. We could see the new windmill farm being constructed along Hayward Road between Highway 97 and Highway 10. The sky was blue but the wind was cold. The flowers increased as we climbed. We noticed that scarlet gilia was in bloom with its brilliant red firecracker blooms. The common name is skyrocket. We realized the fields were in bloom for the 4th of July celebration – red scarlet gilia, blue delphinium and white yarrow.

We started going back in time as we climbed higher. Soon we saw the seed pods of the camas that we had seen in bloom three weeks ago. A little farther we found fields of big head clover in bloom. Next the fields were filled with shooting stars and avalanche lilies. And finally a few patches of snow. We pulled to the side and had lunch over looking the valley before turning back.

We meandered back down – stopping when we saw something new – looking for the perfect red, white and bloom wildflower shot that we never found. But we enjoyed walking the fields and a day in the flowers.

Red White and Blue Wildflowers