Album of Mineral Park Campground Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 4 August 2025 spider collecting trip (with Kathy Whaley) to Mineral Park Campground on the Cascade River (just below the joining of its North and South forks), Skagit County, Washington. As you can see below, from the air this camp is completely hidden by forest! An array of habitats added a few species each (the best records coming from camp outhouses and fragments of rotten stump), and we ended the day with an unspectacular but sufficient 25-species sample — and a lot of huckleberries.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
aerial view of Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington entrance sign, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Campground located around red dot      (NAIP, 2024) Campground entrance info sign                  © Rod Crawford
camp entrance by dusty road, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington Cascade River below Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Camp entrance sign amid traffic dust!      © Rod Crawford Cascade River below our temporary campsite                     © Rod Crawford
alder foliage along river, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington rocky shoreline of river, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Alder foliage along river             © Laurel Ramseyer Rocky riverbank                    © Rod Crawford
tall riparian alder, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington broad spot in river, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Tall riparian alder tree            © Laurel Ramseyer Broad stretch of the "mighty" Cascade River               © Laurel Ramseyer
varied conifer foliage, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington sword fern foliage, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Western hemlock, true fir and red cedar foliage      © Rod Crawford Sword fern foliage                     © Rod Crawford
sword fern, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington sword fern along trail, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
More sword fern                 © Rod Crawford Spider-rich ferns along trail to riverbank                    © Rod Crawford
moss on alder trunk, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington moss along trail, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Laurel's source of sifting moss             © Laurel Ramseyer Rod's source of sifting moss                    © Rod Crawford
moss in sifter, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington giant devil's club leaves, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Moss in the sifter              © Rod Crawford Giant devil's club leaves along trail                    © Rod Crawford
female spider Neon reticulatus, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington giant red cedar tree, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Neon reticulatus sifted from moss     © Laurel Ramseyer One of the giant red cedars                   © Rod Crawford
giant red cedar tree, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington female spider Neriene digna, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Another giant red cedar tree           © Rod Crawford Female Neriene digna from conifer beat               © Rod Crawford
Hyptiotes spider webs on bridge over North Fork, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington female spider Hyptiotes gertschi, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Hyptiotes webs on North Fork bridge   © Laurel Ramseyer Microscope shot of Hyptiotes gertschi                © Rod Crawford
North Fork Cascade River near Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington camp outhouse, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
North Fork Cascade River           © Laurel Ramseyer Camp outhouses were good spider habitat               © Laurel Ramseyer
Novalena spider web from outhouse, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington female Novalena intermedia spider, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Novalena web behind outhouse        © Laurel Ramseyer Novalena intermedia from outhouse web                  © Laurel Ramseyer
Trail from campsite to bridge, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington female spider Araneus nordmanni from outhouse, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Trail from campsite through riparian zone   © Rod Crawford Araneus nordmanni from outhouse                      © Laurel Ramseyer
western bunchberry, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington stump with dead wood habitat, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Western bunchberry               © Laurel Ramseyer Stump with best pile of dead wood habitat                  © Rod Crawford
giant red cedar tree, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington harvest of red and blue huckleberries, Mineral Park Campground, Cascade River, Skagit County, Washington
Biggest giant cedar, near camp entrance    © Rod Crawford Kathy's harvest of red & blue huckleberries                © Laurel Ramseyer

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This page last updated 11 August, 2025