Larrabee State Park - Orchid Board

ronaldhanko · #1 02-21-2013, 09:38 AM

These pictures are all from Larrabee State Park a beautiful park on the Straits of San Juan and that includes the Chuckanut Mountains. south of Bellingham. It has a good number of native orchids, lots of interesting tidepools, beautiful Madrone trees (Arbutus menziesii) and many other wonderful features.

WhiteRabbit · #2 02-21-2013, 09:15 PM

WOW! Spectacular!

ronaldhanko · #3 02-21-2013, 09:19 PM

Thanks, Sonya. It really is a beautiful area and only about 20 minutes from where we live, so we go there quite often.

Ferns Daddy · #4 02-21-2013, 11:02 PM

Super cool pictures

AnonYMouse · #5 02-21-2013, 11:48 PM

Been wanting to visit the area. What are my chances of spotting orcas there?

ronaldhanko · #6 02-22-2013, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferns Daddy

Super cool pictures

Thanks for your kind comments and for taking the time to look at the pics.

---------- Post added at 09:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Been wanting to visit the area. What are my chances of spotting orcas there?

A better place to see Orcas is near Deception Pass and further down Whidbey Island at Fort Ebey State Park up on the bluffs, but chances are pretty slim at either place. Best way of all is to take the tour boat at Deception Pass or go on one of the whale watching tours, but that's rather pricey.

AnonYMouse · #7 02-22-2013, 02:16 AM

Still beautiful, still on my list of places to visit.

ronaldhanko · #8 02-22-2013, 02:22 AM

Larrabee is one of our favorite places, both the coast and the Chuckanut Mountains. Two very nice trails are the Fragrance Lake trail and the Oyster Dome trail, the second much more strenuous, and if you are able to get up some rough roads with your vehicle, there is an amazing viewpoint at the top of Blanchard Mountain that is accessed by a forest service road off the highway.

Stray59 · #9 02-23-2013, 08:27 PM

Thanks for another mini-excursion, they are so easy on the back, legs and knees - especially for the viewers!
It is always a pleasure to be invited to one of your get-a-ways - thanks for the continued excellence in pics and posts!
Beautiful land with excellent vistas and closeups - the coral root is a great photo - don't think I have looked into the throat of one like that - how nice.
Steve

ronaldhanko · #10 02-23-2013, 09:29 PM

Thanks, Steve. It's a bit hard to look into the throat of the Striped Coralroot since the flowers tend to hang down a bit and the plants are not very tall. Appreciate the nice comments.