August came and brought a scattering of rain showers, as well as a renewal of the heat warnings. The West is still on fire, the air quality drops to moderate and storms bring some rain but also lightning.
This week our escape was to drive a few miles west to the head waters of the Deschutes River and Tip’s favorite swimming hole.
The ODFW has placed restrictions on Oregon’s large rivers as water temperatures rise from the heat wave.
These “Hoot Owl” hours protect already stressed fish, limiting hours we can be on the water.
The Upper Deschutes benefits from higher altitude and mid-summer snow run-off, so it’s waters stay cooler and fishable, for now.
Tip loves this spot to wade the stream and play fetch. Once started it’s pretty hard to get his focus off the game. We’re glad to set our chairs on the shady bank and take in it’s natural AC.
There is a ten degree difference in temp plus the soothing sound of moving water (broken by demanding barks from the dog). Half a day on the stream and we all are refreshed.
December’s snow melted away between Christmas and the first part of January. We took the opportunity to do some exploring along the upper Deschutes River. It’s closed to fishing this time of year, meaning far fewer people and with only a hint of snow on the roads you can get nearly to Wickiup Reservoir via USFS roads.
