Nature – Page 16

January 14, 2024March 15, 2024

New Year, New Blog Post

This week it snowed.

And it wasn’t the skiff and gone variety we experienced all December.

In fact, it was a blizzard-closing passes and white-out conditions on the roads kind of snow..

In the midst of this, we made a trip to the dentist, necessary, though the drive was nearly as painful as the appointment.

Before the recent snows, right up to New Year’s Day, we enjoyed mild, if a bit rainy weather.

There was a trip to the Crooked River and our traditional New Year’s toast.

The past few weeks have been busy with a smattering of projects. We made thumbprint cookies with our homemade jam.

Tried a new ramen soup recipe . . . it was easy and very tasty.

We broke in a new fondue pot with a cheese fondue. Then enjoyed an oil fondue. We’ve yet to try the chocolate version.

Exhibit features images and video of wolves in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem and on Ellesmere Island in the high Canadian Arctic.

We also took in a National Geographic Photo exhibit at the High Desert Museum.

Documenting current as well as historic views on Yellowstone National Park and Yukon wolf packs.

NatGeo Images by R. Donovan. This was a favorite.

Excellent images and fascinating information.

We get passes from our library and try to get over to the museum a couple of time a year . . . this was one of the best exhibits in a while.

First the sidewalk needs clearing . . . then you can go for a walk

The snows continue throughout the second week in January and we’ve accumulated about 3 feet on the ground (2 feet within the last 24 hours) and more is on the way.

We actually enjoy having four seasons. This snow is less than years past and I don’t mind the daily task of clearing snow.

It’s better than constant rain.

We’re back with weekly updates to our adventures, though not sure what is planned for the coming days.

A lot depends on the weather.

There will be good pictures, that I can assure you . . . so come back every Sunday for a new installment.

December 3, 2023December 2, 2023

Layers of Color

It has been some time since we visited Painted Hills, so this week we spent a day walking trails and taking pictures, very touristy of us.

The Painted Hills Unit gets a lot of hype on the internet . . . heck, it’s listed as one of the 7 Wonders of Oregon.

We are regular visitors to all the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument ‘units’. But this is perhaps our most photographed.

The stratification that gives the “hills’ distinct layers presents differently depending on the season, as well as time of day.

Our afternoon visit was on a clear day, but there had been a week of rain.

These elements combined to offer some very photogenic views.

Even a quick swing into the Painted Hills is worth the time. As such, it gets worked into many different road trips. Frequent readers of the blog will recognize that.

Usually these excursions are short photo sorties to an overlook about a mile in from the junction of Burnt Ranch and Bear Creek roads.

We expanded that typical visit this week with some trail walks past other exibit areas.

Took a quick pass around a fenced off mound of leaf fossils.

We’re kind of leaf fossil snobs, you see we dug samples when you could still just park at Fossil High School and collect.

Spent a bit more time on the out and back trail at Red Hill.

Not as visually stunning as the overlook hills. It’s a lone mound of red capped with green.

There is a texture to the surface as well as color

It’s the surrounding landscape that gives the site an ancient look. Did manage to find a lot of photo ops.

We enjoyed ourselves to the point of skipping a trip to Tiger Brewing in Mitchell, so as to avoid night driving. Will be swinging back here again.

November 12, 2023June 4, 2024

Fall Color

Before fall gets covered with snow, we figured it was a good time to locate some color.

The high desert isn’t devoid of deciduous trees. It’s forested hills put on a nice show of seasonal change. However, the journey down into the Willamette Valley offers broader strokes of color dotting the foothills.

A majority of ‘places to see fall color in Oregon‘ are on the Cascade Range’s west side. I think it’s an elevation difference. Regardless, the west side was drenched in warm tones.

On top of that our weather apps pointed out a high probability of rain, so it became a perfect time to do a road trip.

And by road trip, I mean we’re mostly going to be driving, not stopping to say, wet a line. This type of adventure is more a historical marker, regular dog walk and picture op stopping day.

We got going early to make it through Sisters and up Santiam Pass (Hwy 20). The plan was to loop back via Willamette Pass (Hwy 58).

In between these two mountian treks was a stop at the Willamette Valley Pie Company.

Slices needed tasting and the freezer needed a restock. It would also be a good excuse to swing through Silver Falls State Park. That is, if there’s not a downpour like we experienced.

Along I-5 from Millersburg to Goshen the reds from oak trees and maples gets mixed in with yellows of cottonwood and ash.

These blobs of color frame the edges of fields still green from an ample supply of McKenzie and Willamette River water. Not ones to choose freeway miles, this is a stretch we’ve driven often.

We never grow tired of the view.

November 5, 2023November 5, 2023

Fall on the Deschutes

Days are growing shorter and mornings colder. Leaves have shifted from green to gold and paint the ground amber around our picnic spot.

Fall in Central Oregon is a very short season . . . a brief few weeks between ‘Indian summer’ and first snow.

I’m still looking for Steelhead, so we’re making the trek to the Lower Deschutes.

This week we scouted different access spots, a task acknowledging Tip’s desire to wade, as well as the need to access good holding water.

Just upstream from where the White River empties turbid waters into the Deschutes was a nice stretch. Still no luck catching Steelhead.

However, the sun tempered a morning chill and we found a nice spot to brew a cup of coffee and enjoy our lunch.

Winter looms and we wake to a dusting of snow on the ground more than once.

The week ahead promises wet but mild weather. We’ll pack rain gear, break out the beanies and generally prepare for colder days.

However, this day was a perfect Fall day on the Lower Deschutes and we took advantage of that.

October 29, 2023October 27, 2023

A Game of Cards on the John Day

There are folks that aspire to primitive methods when camping . . that is not us.

We booked a cabin at Cottonwood Canyon State Park, roasted german sausages on a gas grill, and turned up the electric heater as the fall winds turned cold.

There are rock formations and sage, but very few trees.

Trails were hiked. Lines were wet and books were read.

However, every evening tables were pushed together and six of us engaged in a semi-friendly game of Contract Rummy. I never got all.

It’s interesting to me how many variations of rules there can be for such a simple rummy game. Our family has always played card games.

While this particular variation on rummy is ‘optimum’ for 4 people we’ve dealt hands to more than a dozen players after a large family meal.

The rules are simple enough for children to pick up. However, around the Schommer family table there might be rough language thrown about.

All in good humor, usually. And so it was this week when we met the Wilcox and Yecnys for a two day stay beside the John Day River.

Cottonwood Canyon and the John Day River

We’ve mentioned Cottonwood Canyon State Park before in this blog, but as with all good places there are frequent return visits.

The site is on a lower stretch of Oregon’s only un-dammed river, sitting on a flat between a couple of rock, sage and prairie grass covered hills.

The camp sites are spacious, so RV’s aren’t stacked like parking slips at Walmart. We always choose the cabins, they offer amenities like electric lights, heat and air conditioning.

I think this would be considered Glamping, and we love it.