Nature – Page 28

October 3, 2021October 2, 2021

Fall Color

The days are getting shorter, mornings colder and thin streaks of yellow and red are starting to line the hillsides.

Central Oregon is mostly pine forests and high desert sage, but river banks offer great places to find fall colors.

This week we headed to Camp Sherman on the Metolius River.

The National Wild and Scenic Metolius River is home to trout and kokanee salmon.

From the point it bubbles out of the earth on the northern edge of Black Butte until it drops into Lake Billy Chinook it’s banks are lined with willow, maple and aspen.

Fall frosts have just started but the foliage is already putting on a show.

In addition to the fall show, we’re scouting fishing spots. The Metolius offers great fly-fishing only water, though it’s fish are very finicky. We’ve been to camp sites further downriver, but today we’ll explore closer to the headwaters.

A narrow road parallels the river from just below the springs to a couple miles up from the tiny village of Camp Sherman.

There are half a dozen camp grounds and many more pull offs that allow access to the river. A well maintained foot path also runs the entire length of the stream.

It was a perfect fall day. Warm sunshine mixed with the smell of pine and fallen leaves.

Pine trees filter the warm fall sun creating photo op patches of light. Today the camp sites are tagged with reserved signage, however, in a few weeks the crowds will thin and the fishing will be good as will the views.

September 19, 2021September 18, 2021

Head Waters

The Crooked River has been the subject of many posts on this blog, usually centered on fishing. This week, with a welcome break in poor air quality, we headed to the headwaters of our favorite stream.

Forests of Ponderosa Pine mixed with open prairie

The Ococho National forest lands sit between the saged high desert and the thickly forested cascade range.

A half hours drive east of Prineville puts you on the edge of Big Summit Prairie and a web of fresh water springs feeding into the North Fork of the Crooked River.

As the name implies this stream meanders across central Oregon, most of it through hay and pasture land.

The canyon we frequent most is some 50 or 60 miles downstream of Deep Creek Campground.

We’ve pulled in here for a bit of lunch and a cup of coffee. The air is clean, filled with the scent of Ponderosa and it feels like Fall.

Deep Creek feeds into the North Fork as it turns south, away from the road and through a forested canyon and wilderness study area. The only way to fish that stretch is by trail and today we’re not prepared for that journey.

Eagle Rock, a popular site for rock enthusiasts, and a visit for another day.

We follow USFS 42 over yet another low mountain range heading south and west. The pine forest gives way to ancient juniper and volcanic rock fields. At the junction with OR 380 we are surrounded by cattle ranches and the North Fork merges into the Crooked. It stays in this grassy valley for 30 miles before winding south into the Prineville reservoir. After which it will exit Bowman dam and wind through the basalt lined canyon we frequent.

We skirt the eastern edge of the reservoir, through Prineville and after a brief stop for chocolate soft-serve at the local DQ, head home. It was very nice to be out of the smoke and haze for a day.

September 12, 2021September 11, 2021

Smoke Clogged Days

Endless days of ‘unhealthy’ and ‘very unhealthy’ air pushed us to a point where we drove into the belly of the beast, Summer Lake. It’s a few miles north of what was at one point this summer, the nation’s largest wildfire.

Air quality doesn’t seem to matter to the snow geese, sand pipers, American avocet, and stilts who feed across the shallows.

California fires are the major contributor to the choking particulate count but Oregon has added to the plume. Which at last view stretches from left coast across the nation. In all it’s been a bad summer for outside activities.

The one thing poor air quality offers is unique sunrises. So the first stop was Fort Rock to catch the orange globe.

Fort Rock is a great location to watch the progression from dawn to sunrise.

We broke out the drone for some aerial footage.

No obstacles … no wind … perfect flight conditions for this novice drone pilot

The gray haze and lack of wind created some really cool conditions on the water at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Harshly backlit black-necked stilts stride across a silent expanse of water.

The gray haze and lack of wind created some really cool conditions on the water at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Birds are starting fall migrations and that was reflected in the variety of species we saw.

A pair of coyotes, one roaming, the other hunkered down in a lone patch of grass.

And for the first time we came across a pair of coyotes that appeared to be hunting.

Photos were shot in brief excursions from the cab of our car and the ever-present masks helped.

There is rain in our forecast so that may bring some relief as season weather patterns shift and temperatures cool.

August 29, 2021August 28, 2021

An Evening Hatch

A swim and roll in the dirt makes everything better

Weather patterns seem to rule our lives. Yet another week of wildfire smoke dropped on us in what seemed like a random pattern. Over the course of a day air quality would move from good to unhealthy and back. We did manage an afternoon of relatively smoke-free weather.

So of course we headed up to the river. Now normally we’d be on the stream mid-morning and home by three or four oclock. This week it was an afternoon and evening trip. We packed for dinner and headed to the Crooked.

Early in the week there are usually fewer people, but it is August, so we were happy to find our favorite site completely empty.

Redband rainbow trout have adapted to the arid, desert conditions of central Oregon

We put out the chairs along the stream’s edge and settled in for the day. Tip and I worked on getting rigged for fishing, while JQ pulled out her camera gear.

After the heat of the day passes, there is typically good fishing and this day we had a nice caddis fly hatch. I worked a stretch of stream within eyesight of our camp and was busy casting to hungry redband rainbows.

Evening hours present a quality of light photographers call “golden hour”. The closer the sun gets to the horizon the warmer the light qualty. It also creates shadows that enhance the subjects and landscape. We also discovered that bird activity picked up in the evening.

In an aggressive display of “sky-dancing” this golden eagle drove off an osprey perched along the river’s edge. Golden eagles are one of the fastest, nimblest raptors in North America. They have been clocked at close to 200 miles per hour.

Air quality didn’t improve the remainder of the week so it was good to get that break. We are looking at car trips to do some photo/video shoots which allow limited exposure to the nasty air. Hints of fall weather are in the forecast so we’re hopeful for some better days ahead.

August 15, 2021August 14, 2021

More Heat and Smoke of Summer

This week we were, again, dealing with smoke from an increasing number of wildfires, as well as record high temperatures.

The week started out with an air quality level at a breathable ‘moderate’.

We headed up to the Crooked River and with a little searching found a quiet, shady spot to set up our chairs, break out cold drinks, and open the lunch boxes. Mid-day temps pushed 90º but a light breeze through the shade of ancient junipers made for a pleasant day.

Fishing wasn’t great but Tip and I covered a lot of stream to to be sure. We spent most of that time wading. The reparian is still pretty lush as the river level remains high. A few more weeks of this and the resevoir will be all but dried up and we’ll see a dramatic shift in stream levels.

The wildfire smoke settled onto us for the remainder of the week and we’ve been living with “unhealthy and hazardous” air quality conditions. Hoping for some relief next week.