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Mike Collins
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Mike Collins
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PostFri Jun 26, 2020 7:05 pm 
Meeks Table is a mini-mesa of columnar basalt located along FR 1502 of Yakima County. Peakbagging is of great interest to me. But this outing was about flower-bagging. The monument plant or Frasera speciosa is an uncommon Washington wildflower which can be found in Yakima County. This is a fascinating plant that uses a reproductive strategy called mast seeding. Within the region where it is found the monument plant synchronizes its flowering/seeding to overproduce seeds at a rate of varying years. The birds and rodents that eat the seeds can only eat so much and become satiated unable to eat any more. That assures some seeds avoid being eaten and thereby survival of the plant. Right now the 6 ft tall racemes are flowering as a group and this may not happen again for years. There are other flowers to enjoy as well. Here is more input about this plant oddity. http://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2017/5/16/a-beautiful-and-bizarre-gentian

Ski
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FiresideChats
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PostSat Jun 27, 2020 10:22 am 
Sounds cool. Wouldn't mind some pics. smile.gif

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Gwen
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PostSat Jun 27, 2020 1:01 pm 
Man! I've been thinking about Meeks for weeks now. Good trip!

Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
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Type E
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PostSat Jun 27, 2020 3:05 pm 
Nice to see a post from you E

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neilpa
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 6:08 pm 
My girlfriend and I decided to do a day trip yesterday after seeing this post, it did not dissappoint. Only saw one other group headed down on our way up, otherwise had the mesa to ourselves. A lot of the monument plants hadn't quite bloomed yet but there was still plenty to see.
Quote:
Wouldn't mind some pics
Here you go...
Lance-leaved Stonecrop
???
???
Tiger Lily
Monument Plant
Saw this "foam" on a lot of the elkweed (and a few lupines too) but not sure what it is.
Stumbled on some Elk driving out
And a herd of sheep on the drive out There's also lots of penstemon, paintbrush, buckwheat, arnica, and lupine w/ seed pods.

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puzzlr
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 7:15 pm 
Informative thread about something I've never heard of. Mike, thanks for the report and neilpa, thanks for the photos.

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Pyrites
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 7:18 pm 
What an interesting little place. A little looking around found USFS botanists report from 1972, and a Seattle PI trip report by Karen Sykes from Spring 2002. There’s some discussion of a bridge on approach road being washed out. Is this out of date?

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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Gwen
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 7:42 pm 
The bridge has been repaired.

Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
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Gwen
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 9:30 pm 
neilpa wrote:
Old man's whiskers

Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
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Gwen
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 9:32 pm 
neilpa wrote:
Aphids? They do that in the home garden. Or I could be completely wrong.

Tomorrow's not promised to anyone, so be bold, scare yourself, attempt something with no guarantee of success. You'll be amazed at what you can achieve. -Olive McGloin
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Kim Brown
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PostSun Jun 28, 2020 9:37 pm 
there was a movement for a Meeks Table Wilderness back in the day; it didn't make it. frown.gif

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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hikerbiker
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PostMon Jun 29, 2020 3:48 am 
Kim Brown wrote:
there was a movement for a Meeks Table Wilderness back in the day; it didn't make it. frown.gif
Meeks Table is in the W O Douglas Wilderness Area (barely). up.gif

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neilpa
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PostMon Jun 29, 2020 7:27 am 
Pyrites wrote:
A little looking around found USFS botanists report from 1972
Thanks for the tip! I also found a 1986 research note from the forest service. I’ll have to give these a read this evening. Should help ID a few plants I haven’t yet.

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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostMon Jun 29, 2020 8:02 am 
hikerbiker wrote:
Kim Brown wrote:
there was a movement for a Meeks Table Wilderness back in the day; it didn't make it. frown.gif
Meeks Table is in the W O Douglas Wilderness Area (barely). up.gif
It is??? I didn't know that! I knew it was protected, but not permanently by wilderness. Shows how much I know. You can park right at the base of it, so I guess it would certainly qualify as "just barely!"

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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neilpa
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neilpa
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PostMon Jun 29, 2020 5:28 pm 
neilpa wrote:
After checking out the forest service reports and another round with a wildflower guide pretty sure this is Douglas's Buckwheat (Eriogonum douglassii). Missed it before since all the photos I saw online show the creamy yellow "puffball" flowers.

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