Every morning this week we woke up to snow on the ground.
Yeah, it didn’t stay around but it took the joy out of any adventure we might have planned. So, we stayed home and caught up on stuff.
We’ll be back next week with some pix and info on an Earth Day jaunt . . .
until then, here’s hoping this is the last snowfall we see until next winter.
We put in a lot of miles over the course of a year. Most are spent on two lane roads crossing the sage steppes on the east side of Oregon.
A feature of driving through the high desert is you’re able to see the weather. Not just the stuff over our heads, but what’s happening on a distant horizon.
You witness weather fronts sliding across remote locations. We frequently pull onto a wide spot in a remote stretch of highway, camera lens pointed out at a distant butte or swale. Cloud patterns, rain curtains, and sunlight all casting shadows for our photos.
The play of light, clouds and landscape make for very interesting images. It connects us to the environment in a way similar to standing in a stream or hiking a rocky trail.
All if this is part of the experience we are trying to share in these posts. At the same time, making the journey as much fun as the destination.
I don’t think it would qualify for an Instagram post as ‘glamping‘, but this week we spent a couple of nights in a cabin on the John Day River.
Winter snowstorms still pester the Bend area, but at the park we enjoyed sunny days and mild spring-like temperatures.
Oregon State Parks offers overnight stays in cabins, teepees and yurts at parks all over the state. Most of these exist at coastal parks, however a dozen parks east of the Cascades have structured camping options.
Most importantly for us, there is always at least one cabin that allows pets.
Cottonwood Canyon SP has four “rustic” cabins available by reservation year-round. These two room units can sleep 8 people, have electricity to provide lighting, wall mounted heaters and an AC unit.
Cooking isn’t allowed inside, but there’s a gas grill, picnic table and fire pit next to each cabin.
A covered porch offers un-obstructed views east across a grassy flat, willow-lined river and the canyon walls.
Our first morning was spent watching Big Horn Sheep graze on the rocky north face just above the campground.
Later in the day, we hiked up to the foot of that slope and the Pinnacles Trail Head. This trail and one on the opposite side of the river (Lost Corral Trail) follow the John Day for 4.3 miles around a couple of bends in the river.
Winter runoff made fishing impossible, but we managed to fill our time catching up on reading, watching wildlife, and relaxing.
Reservations are snapped up quickly, but we’ve managed to find a couple of open slots in the fall and hope to become regular visitors.
Last week we speculated that spring
. . . was about to s p r o u t.
Well, we were wrong . . .
because it just kept S N O W I N G.
Knowing the snowpack will help ease Central Oregon’s drought conditions doesn’t make these recurring snowstorms any easier to endure.
It’s the beginning of April and just the other day I had to shovel four inches of snow off our driveway. Enough is enough.
Two different winter weather watch alerts limited our road trips this week. Being stuck at home did encourage us to complete some overdue projects.
Once again the forecast is looking more spring-like so there are plans for some road trips coming up.
Now we just need to endure this weekends’ winter weather warning.
Spring officially started this week.
While we have no illusions this marks an end to snowfall, it does mean days are getting longer and warmer. When there is one of those warmer days we head to the river. We’ve made several trips to the Lower Deschutes this winter and have gotten more familar with Maupin.
It’s a small town precariously occupying a hillside over looking the Deschutes River. It’s really returning to an old haunt and with a bit of exploring we discovered a stretch of river with easy access for all.
Highway 197 (Deschutes Ave.) winds it’s way in and back out of the canyon passing through the center of Maupin.
Where the highway crosses fifth street is the Deschutes Angler. . . . a flyfishing shop.
Among the hundreds of shops in river towns only a handful are must stop locations.
The adage “if they don’t have it you don’t need it” hallmarks these places. Deschutes Angler is on that list.
A fishing shop visit could replenish a tying bench or fishing pack, however mostly it’s a means to acquire current intel on local waters. Not all establishments are equal in these aspects, so when you find a good one it gets marked on the map.
The sun helps cut the chill but hasn’t been around enough to coax spring color back into the canyon walls.
We need wadeable access so take advantage of pullouts along the Deschutes River Access Road.
Fishing alongside traffic comes with some limits. Tip is on constant duty, so if the road offers the shortest route between JQ and Jack he’ll be on it.
Fortunately he is a good listener.
The spot we settled into this winter offers lots of dog friendly access to the river. There’s a wide swath of river silt and grass cut with jagged outcropping of lava rock.
The scattering of trees and willow bushes at river’s edge seem bare from the road. Ducking under a branch to gain access to a new pool I notice bud sites and the beginnings of summer foliage.
Won’t be long before the banks are lined with fisherman and the water is full of rafters. By then other waters will become our regular haunt.