Camas Meadows

Blog for Camas Meadows Lodge™. Located on Camas Meadows Natural Area Preserve outside of Leavenworth, Washington. http://www.camasmeadowslodge.com All materials and photos copyrighted 2006-2017©

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Coming back to Camas Meadows


It is still winter on Three Brothers Peak; however, down on the meadow spring is bursting out with wildflowers, flowing creeks, and the annual return of summer residents to the meadow.  On the drive along Camas Creek Road, I spied a large tom turkey with his female friends out for an easy stroll.  And yes, the camera was packed away.

On Friday afternoon, the Sandhill Cranes spiraled down from the sky to feed in the meadow.  It looks like they are back for another romantic stay at Camas Meadows.  The average lifespan for a Sandhill Crane is twenty years, so we can look forward to many more years of their spring visit.  The following picture does not do justice to the size of the birds.  When they flew down into the meadow you could see every inch of that eight foot wing span.


The frog chorus is slowly starting up.  As their numbers increase through the spring, so will the volume.  But for now, they are just warming up.

The songbirds have returned to the meadow.  The wildflowers are blooming.  We are currently "showing" Glacier Lilies, Spring Beauties, and Blue Bells.

But the meadow royalty are the elk.  They return every year on April 15th.  This year they were a day late.  We suspect it had nothing to do with filing a tax extension.


It looks like the current elk herd is 10 animals and, hopefully, it will increase when the babies are born in a few weeks.  At one time, the Camas herd numbered two hundred animals.  Unfortunately, the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department is trying to kill off the entire herd.  They have scheduled a rifle cow season open to all hunters for three years in an attempt to eliminate the herd.

So come to Camas soon, before a historic and natural part of eastern Washington becomes a collection of fading photos in a book.


We are booked the following weekends in May:  May 1st and May 13th.  Memorial Day weekend is still open.  Camas Meadows is peaceful and quiet on Memorial Day weekends; and with the wildflowers and elk it is a very special place.

In June, we are booked from June 2nd through June 8th, but the rest of June is still open.

In July we are booked from July 8th through July 19th.  The 4th of July weekend is still open.

So book now for that special weekend.

You can contact us through our website:  www.camasmeadowslodge.com

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Wildflowers bounce back after getting buried by Snow!

On Friday it snowed.  Camas ended up with about six inches of fresh snow.  It buried all the wildflowers that had started blooming.  However, by Sunday they had emerged from the snow with the message that spring is just around the corner.


For good measure the blue bells joined the Glacier Lilies in proclaiming the end to winter.  Six inches of snow is a lot of snow, but come spring it melts away rather quickly.  Camas was a field of white on Friday, today it is waiting for the elk, the Sandhill Cranes and the rest of the 135 varieties of wildflowers to arrive in the meadows.



We had rays of sunshine today, but Three Brothers Mountains just peaked in and out of the clouds.  The weather should improve by the coming weekend.  This time of year we tend to have more sunny and warm days than cloudy days, but it is Spring in the mountains and anything and everything does occur. 

We are booked from April 5th through April 12th.  The last weekend in April is also booked, as well as the weekend of May 13th.  June 2nd through June 8th and July 12th through July 19th.   Memorial Day weekend is still open.  Book now for the wildflowers of May.

As always, you may contact us through the web site for booking your reservation:

www.camasmeadowslodge.com