Album of Salmon La Sac Field Trip

Selected photos (by Rod Crawford & Laurel Ramseyer) from our 17 July 2011 spider collecting trip to the Salmon La Sac area, 13 miles north of Roslyn, Kittitas County, Washington. See also Laurel's account. We got a decent sample, both of general spiders and white-pine cone fauna, at two sites here along Forest Service roads, plus an evening visit to a Ponderosa pine stand farther south at Wish-Poosh Campground (no, I did not make that name up!). The name Salmon La Sac supposedly dates from a French trapper's description of a native salmon fishing technique. We also attempted to visit Tucquala Lake 10 miles farther north, but for that see the album from a later, more successful trip there. Below, pictures from the day's first site:
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
2009 aerial photo of spider collecting site, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington roadside, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington
Well-mixed forest with small clearings   (Kittitas County, 2009) Diverse roadside habitats          © Rod Crawford
bigleaf maple tree Acer macrophyllum, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington Lemah Mountain from ridge above Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington
Solitary bigleaf maple had good litter     © Rod Crawford A glimpse of Lemah Mountain and Chimney Rock              © Rod Crawford
spider Zora hespera from maple litter, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington flowers at cliff base above Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington
Zora hespera from the maple litter      © Rod Crawford Flowers at a cliff base               © Rod Crawford
spider Zanomys aquilonia from pine cone, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington cone of white pine Pinus monticola, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington
Zanomys aquilonia from pine cone   © Laurel Ramseyer Distinctive, long cone of white pine               © Laurel Ramseyer
forest understory, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington historic Salmon La Sac Ranger Station, Kittitas County, Washington
Understory at roadside site        © Laurel Ramseyer Historic Salmon La Sac cabin (1913)           © Rod Crawford
juvenile spider Cryphoeca exlineae from pine cone, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington monument to Mac the Pac, Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington
Cryphoeca from pine cone          © Laurel Ramseyer 'Mac the Pac' has dedicated to him … a rock. What an honor!         © Rod Crawford
spider Tachygyna ursina from pine cone, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington web of unknown spider in pine cone, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington
Tachygyna ursina from pine cone        © Rod Crawford A complete, miniature prey capture web in a cone        © Laurel Ramseyer
unidentified yellow wildflower, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington abandoned road with rodky spider habitat, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington
Yet another unidentified flower     © Rod Crawford Abandoned road strewn with good rocks              © Rod Crawford
rocky spider habitat in abandoned road, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington retreat & egg sac of spider Zelotes fratris under stone, S of Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Kittitas County, Washington
Good as spider habitat, that is!        © Rod Crawford Retreat and egg sac of Zelotes fratris                © Laurel Ramseyer

A little farther north along the highway, we collected around a large gravel pit.

2009 aerial view of gravel pit S of Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington gravel pit S of Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington
Gravel pit from the air   (Kittitas County, 2009) Gravel pit from the ground           © Rod Crawford
spider Callilepis pluto from pine cone, gravel pit S of Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer collecting pine cones at gravel pit S of Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington
Callilepis pluto from a pine cone    © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel picking up more pine cones              © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford at gravel pit S of Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington old lumber in forest, gravel pit S of Salmon La Sac, Kittitas County, Washington
Rod strikes a heroic pose          © Laurel Ramseyer Old lumber in the woods, Pimoa curvata habitat     © Rod Crawford

After an abortive trip farther north (see forthcoming album), we stopped at Wish-Poosh Campground:

2009 aerial view of Wish-Poosh Campground, Kittitas County, Washington meadow at Wish-Poosh Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Campground & lake shore from the air    (Kittitas County, 2009) Attractive meadow for campers to stroll in        © Rod Crawford
forest edge at Wish-Poosh Campground, Kittitas County, Washington spider Callobius nevadensis with egg sac in pine cone, Wish-Poosh Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Forest edge with pines          © Laurel Ramseyer Callobius nevadensis laid eggs on a pine cone        © Laurel Ramseyer
daisy with cerambycid beetle, Wish-Poosh Campground, Kittitas County, Washington cloud descending ridge near Wish-Poosh Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Meadow daisies had one cerambycid each       © Rod Crawford Cloud rolling down ridge across the lake       © Rod Crawford
mountain emerges from cloud west of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, 17 July 2011 sunset west of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, 17 July 2011
Small peak emerges from twilight mist  © Rod Crawford Spectacular sunset on our way home        © Rod Crawford
[Native Wildlife Gardening Home]     [Bug Information from The Scarabs]     [Bugs of the Month Home]

This page last updated 12 June, 2015