Weather wise it has been a very odd start to our spring. There was the late winter snow fall. Then…this week, within one single day, it started with snow, ended with warm sunshine, and included thunder and lightning with freezing pellets.
For the most part winter is subsiding and while no buds or blooms are visible yet, there has been increased bird activity. We are also managing to get out a bit more these days. It feels great!
The Crooked River below Bowman Dam is one of our regular stops. Even with it’s steep canyon walls, plenty of sun warms the riverside. Open year around for fishing is one draw, but there are also lots of great camping and picnicking sites.
The Crooked is a very fishable stream, easy enough to wade and small enough to get to any spot a fish might be holding. There are quite a few people on the river, but you rarely bump into anyone and at most see another fisher up or down stream a few hundred yards.
There is a visit to the Crooked River marked in our calendar for mid-May. We have a guided trip on the river to learn Czech Nymphing. If you read our blog regularly you are going to see a lot of this river … your welcome!
This day we were coming from the John Day area and turned south out of Prineville to check on the Crooked. it was a perfect spring day filled with bird song and warm sun. Tip enjoyed paddling around in the water and we polished off a late winter picnic at one of the camp sites.
Oregon Trunk Railroad bridge is a steel arch built in 1910. Workers climbed rope ladders and waded through the river to get to the other side. Later, 300 feet above the gorge, they would “walk the plank,” crossing over on narrow boards that bounced with each step.
The Crooked River High Bridge allows pedestrians to walk the 464 feet over the Crooked River gorge to some dizzying views of sheer basalt walls leading down the 300 foot canyon face.
Speaking of jumping … one alarming note…there were many signs posted on the path to the gorge’s edge. They all offered a very explicit warning about the fate of many dogs (gulp).
Road trips started back up this week and the other day we headed up to Warm Springs to check out “The Museum at Warm Springs.”
The collection of baskets and bead work is worth the trip but there are also changing exhibits and on this visit we were treated to art from K to 12 students. The exhibit was great! These were class projects and most of them centered on native culture themes and made use of mostly recycled objects with a focus on traditional crafts and customs.
Oregon has lots of places to find craft brews. So many, there is often little difference between one or the other. Faced with way too many Indian Pale Ale and seasonal brews …sorry but pumpkin spice is really only palatable in scone form… we are always looking for something different coming out of the tap. This can be a brew style or even how the beer is being delivered to the glass.
A better way to have your pint without all the bubbles is to use a British style hand pump or beer 
We were really pleased to find 
Chalk this up to cabin fever. Tired of walking neighborhood paths, we headed off to a “year around” trailhead. Rim Rock Springs wildlife area is listed as “open all season.” Because it is pretty much out in the open, there was hope the trail would be somewhat snow clear or at least passable. It wasn’t.
The trailhead is a few miles east of Madras on Highway 26 and the real draw for this mile plus loop trail is an abundance of wildlife. Despite being located in basically a barren landscape, there is a marsh and with it lots of birds and critters in the area. For now, we’ll move it to the ‘a bit later’ spring hiking list.
The road had been plowed, so we did manage to get to the overlook and of course JQ shot a few frames. We had a picnic lunch. Tip chased a ball and sniffed some sagebrush. The only thing we didn’t get in was some hiking mileage. Just have to double up on the neighborhood loop tomorrow.