Jeffrey's Shooting Stars, Dodecatheon Jeffreyi

Day 274 (Double Feature!): As I went out the door this morning, I said to Tip and Skunk, "I'm only gonna be gone an hour or so." I had water in my pack, along with a handful of crackers. Seriously, I was only planning to be gone for a short time. My goal was the lush wild garden of Jeffrey's Shooting Stars near Narada Falls in Mount Rainier National Park, not far from home at all.

I parked at Narada, put on my orange safety vest, walked up the road and knelt down in the ditch, snapping exactly two shots of this lovely grouping. By the time I had walked back to the car, my plan for the day had changed as I recalled a friend telling me where I might find the elusive Wild Ginger in bloom. A long drive and a hot hike later, I had both my Shooting Stars and the Wild Ginger in the bag. The only thing which could have made the day more perfect would have been to have a Prothonotary Warbler land on my hand!