Page Springs in the Fall

 We have moved into some spectacular fall weather so two friends and I decided we needed one more outing.    I normally go to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge with these friends in the early spring to see the amazing birds that migrate through the area.   I have always wanted to visit there at different times of the year to see what I can see, so Malheur it was!

Page Springs Campground is a delightful campground at the southern end of the Refuge, near the tiny Oregon town of Frenchglen.   It is first come-first served, so I left home fairly early in the day to make the 6 hour drive in time to hopefully snag a spot before it filled up.    I drove over Mt Hood, and it has a startling lack of snow on it.   I guess that is not so unusual for this time of year.  

The drive down was uneventful, other than the thick smoke through the Warm Springs Reservation, I assumed, coming from the fires that continue to burn along the Cascades.

I arrived at Page Springs around 1pm, and there were exactly 2 spots open.  One had NO shade and the temperatures were expected to be in the 80's.   So I grabbed the other one, which had a small stream running right behind it, shade during the hottest part of the day and lots of trees and bushes for birds to hang out in.

I got Waddles all set up and my two friends showed up from their respective homes.    The bird activity was great right in our camp.   Lots of White-Crowned Sparrows, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Yellow-Rumped Warblers and California Quail.    Also saw a Downy Woodpecker, Osprey, Magpies, Great Blue Heron and more.    The actual refuge looked very dry as I drove down, which was not unexpected.

The moon came up and, being nearly full, it was almost as light as day!   It came up right behind this lovely tree, and just before the moon appeared this tree was illuminated beautiful.  I wished I'd set up my camera!   I am not very good at night photography, and decided by the time I got the tripod, and camera set up the moon would be up and the moment would be lost.  I'd try tomorrow night.

Cool Tree!

That night, as I slept quietly in Waddles, my tenting friends were awakened by mauraduing raccoons.   One actually opened a cooler and stole grapes out of it.  All the campground garbage cans were opened and garbage was strewn about.   We learned our lesson and didn't leave anything remotely like food out again.

The raccoon took a little jaunt over the hood and roof of my car,

The next day we took a hike from the campground, up the river to see what we could see.  It was lovely, with the fall colors coming on.   Quite a few people fly fishing along the river.

I then took a short trail that went up above the campground with some lovely views.   Waddles looked so cute from up there!

After lunch we stayed in camp and were entertained by the birds.  Looking into the little stream, we saw these cool plants (algae?) that were covered with air bubbles that looked like flowers!

That evening I set up my camera and tripod anticipating the full moon rise.  Being the novice that I am, I assumed it would come up behind the same lovely tree, and of course it didn't.   I took a lot of black, or blurry pictures, but this one was kind of cool.   The moon really was spectacular.

The next day we took a drive along the river a little ways north of the campground and saw immature Cedar Waxwings, and more White-Crowned Sparrows.   After lunch we drove up to the top of the Steens Mountains, about a 4000' elevation gain.   This road is only open from about July through October, and is snowed in the rest of the year.   From the top, looking north, you are looking into Kiger Gorge.  

The colors were spectacular

Looking east out over the Alvord Desert, 

Sorry this is a bit fuzzy, Phone photo.

and to the south is Wildhorse Lake,

It was a beautiful day except for the smoky haze, and a nice break from the heat of the valley.    We saw lots of hawks while we were up there, and the Aspen were all turning (I didn't get a good photo of them, sorry).

That evening we visited with some other friends who had come to the campground also.  It was fun to catch up with people I had not seen for many years.

Next day was time to come home.   So Waddles and I packed up early and headed north.    We stopped in Prineville to visit another friend and had a lovely lunch and walk around the Crook County Wetland Reserve.   Saw lots of ducks who, not being in their breeding plumage, were challenging to ID, so I didn't!

Got home feeling very DUSTY, and tired and happy.   Cleaned out Waddles and the car, did a lot of laundry, took a shower and am looking forward to a good sleep tonight!

Next outing might be to Brookings, in the southwest corner of Oregon.