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Davis Lake

It’s easy to forget that we have taken up residence amidst volcanoes.

Truth is, Oregon was sculpted by a series of geological eruptions that started more than eight million years ago, which ultimately resulted in what is now the Cascade Range.

In the last 500 thousand years volcanic activity pushed up the high cascades giving us mountains like Hood, Jefferson, and perhaps the most famous, Mazama, which is a lake (caldera) rather than a mountain.

All this unrest, magma and ash left it’s mark on the landscape.. Rugged peaks stripped moisture from ocean-born storms onto the lush forests on it’s western slopes, and left the eastside of the range as arid sage steppes.

This week, before they close it off for the winter, we took a trip down the Cascade Lakes Highway’s southern stretch.

Starting just below Wickiup Reservoir to the northern edge of Crater Lake National Park. It’s a geological smorgasbord.

A favorite stop is Davis Lake and Lava Flow campground. This shallow body of water (averages about 9 feet), was formed when a lava eruption dammed up Odell Creek.

A massive wall of volcanic material extending north from the lake serves as evidence of this event.

Odell creek doesn’t supply enough water, especially during the summer months, to make up for the lake’s drainage via it’s porous volcanic bottom.

By this time of the year the lake bed is mostly dry, cracked mud surrounded by pine forest.

The campground is usually empty this time of year making it the perfect place to stretch our legs, have some lunch and shoot some pictures.

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The First Breath of Winter

It’s been cold all week. Our daytime high temperatures didn’t even break into the 40’s. Later we did have some days that finally hit the fifties.

It rained a bit throughout the week, but mostly, it was clear and frosty.  But not so cold we passed up our morning walk.

Activity has picked up at the feeder. We saw a flicker and scrub jay duke it out over some sunflower seeds and there has been a mix of birds at the suet block.

By mid-morning the tray is full of small brown birds, mostly sparrows with some finches, juncos, and chickadees mixed in. The suet box has been reloaded with a new block and the nuthatches are very happy.

The Crooked River level is still too low. Official word is it will come back up to normal winter flows after the first of November.

We hope that is the case, not so much for our personal enjoyment, but for the health of a river full of fish with a lot less water.

We still set up chairs on it’s bank and enjoyed a picnic lunch with mugs of hot tea and sandwiches. There was plenty of wildlife to see.

 

Forecasts suggest a break from this cold front.

We’re definitely into the late stages of fall. Winter hints at it’s arrival by stripping the trees of leaves and draining color from the forest.

The small critters join the birds in a feverish search for stores ahead of the season. With our weatherized house and yard, we can refocus on cold weather destinations and snowy adventures.

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Getting Ready

There has been some rain this week and it’s getting colder overall, but fall continues to impress. What also continues is our prep for the van pick-up.

We started by gathering up three decades of camping gear and as you’d imagine, we’ve accumulated quite a collection of pots, pans, tools and such. Now the task is to sort out enough pieces to at least minimally equip the van for a few days of travel.

The other bit of prep that needs attention is winterizing the house. We’re not gardening in the strict sense, but there are some planters that need frost protection, and planter boxes that have to be moved under the eaves, and general yard clean-up.

The wind seems to do a majority of the leaf raking, but there are still some lavender plants and native grasses that need cutting back. and finally the shade cloth needs to be pulled off the pergola , folded and tucked away in the garage.

The frost and ice we encounter on morning walks hints at the approach of much colder days and we’ve had some snowy Thanksgivings in the past.

It’s good to get the place in order while the weather is pleasant. We’ve learned that before the seasonal shift is the time to get ready.
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Fall Days

So far it’s been an outstanding fall in Central Oregon.

Morning walks require an extra layer, gloves and a cap. However, by afternoon we can sit on the patio in shirt sleeves.

There has been a notable increase in visitors to the bird feeder, out the office window. Migration is in full swing.

We didn’t really take advantage of all this nice weather this week. We were busy organizing for the pick up of an adventure van. We mentioned this in an earlier post and were originally going to take ownership in early spring.

This week that changed.  The company we’re buying from gave us a very good price on a build that would be ready in November.

So instead of 6 months, we have a few weeks to get all the paperwork done, organize the trip to pick it up, and plan a short camping trip to break it in.

 

There will be more details about this in future posts, but this week we’re a bit preoccupied  .  .  .  we should be back with a regular post next Sunday.  

Thanks for your patience.

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Enjoying the Season

Every day the aspen tree framed by our office window has a few more yellow leaves and bare branches.

As October gets underway we’ve been treated to a string of outstanding fall days. It looks like that pattern is going to keep going.

Days like these should not be spent inside. To that end we’ve been on the road quite a bit.

East Fork of the Hood River

Made a swing over the pass to Hood River and around the Fruit Loop. We actually just went to Kiyokawa Family Orchards.

It’s peak season and the wooden box racks were loaded with pears and apples.

We filled bags with Warren and Tosca pears, Honey Crisp, Ambrosia, Green Dragon and Granny Smith apples.

We also snagged a jug of fresh pressed mixed apple cider.

We drove up Highway 35 along the East Fork of the Hood River. We pulled into Sherwood Campground to have some lunch and a glass of cider.

Fall colors on Mt Hood’s east slope

As you climb higher up the side of Mt. Hood the fall colors pop out of the forest and near the top, most of the low bushes have lost all their leaves.

Winter is coming soon to the high country.

We’ve set up our chairs along the Crooked River a couple of times this week and while extremely low water levels limit fishing, it’s still a great place to have lunch.

Crooked River

Our weather app assures us that this string of beautiful days will extend for another week or more and we’re planning accordingly.