Delphiniums on Iron Mountain

One of the highlights of our trip to Oregon last month was a visit to Iron Mountain, near the town of Sisters in the Cascade mountain range. Alice Doyle of Loghouse plants had suggested we might just have the timing right and Stephen Murphy, a very good friend from Mt Vernon, drove me there while Janice was checking out the quilts in Sisters. Boy, did we have the timing right!
It was a hot, sunny morning and as we arrived and began wandering up to the alpine meadow it was obvious that there was much in flower. This image shows a mass of various delphinium species along with Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja) species, artemisia, myosotis and much more. Not being a great plantsman it was good to have Stephen's company and help with identification. There was only one down side to the trip. Here I am, quite fit from regular biking and walking and what do I do but pull a calf muscle before reaching the top...too much sitting in cars and planes I guess. This restricted me a little for the next week or so but didn't stop me having a great time in Mt Vernon that night when the whole town put on a fantastic fireworks display for us. I remember the date - July 4th.