Anthony Lakes

 Just got home from a wonderful trip back to my old haunts in Eastern Oregon.    I lived in Baker City and La Grande for about 24 years and spent a lot of time playing (and working) on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.    A couple of friends and I made reservations to camp here a while back and this was the week!   We drove over on Monday, and encountered some pretty smokey conditions.   Normally you can see the Wallowa Mountains across this valley, but not today!

Looking across the Powder River Valley

We found our campsite, and got settled in.   Me with Waddles, and my friends with their tents.    The mosquitoes were on us immediately so we happily set up my screen tent over the picnic table and went for a walk.    The campground is very near the Anthony Lakes Ski Area, and right on Anthony Lake.    This is pine forest and granite country.

Tuesday we set out on a 8+ mile hike which took us up to the ridge (Elkhorn Crest Trail) and around in a loop back down through the ski area to the campground.    I've done this hike many times, and it is one of my favorites.   The wildflowers were wonderful and made up for some of the missing views due to smoke.

Lilly Pad Lake and Gunsite Peak

Wednesday we had planned a hike we had to drive to, which was short but steep.   It was pretty smokey in the morning so we chose to do a different hike that didn't require as much climbing (thus deep breathing).    We hiked to Hoffer Lake which is in a cirque below the mountains we hiked around the day before.   Again it was spectacular, and the mosquitoes were unrelenting.

Hoffer Lake

Camped a third night and after breakfast we packed up camp and headed toward home.    My friends spent the night at my house and we did another hike on the Mt Hood National Forest in the morning before they headed home.   This is another of my favorite hikes, to Lookout Mt, which provides a 10-Mountain view and didn't disappoint today.   

 There were a couple of scary moments on this Waddles Wander.  The first occurred when we stopped for gas on the first day and I realized I had left the key ring with ALL of Waddles' keys, at home.  This meant not only could we not get into Waddles, we could not unhook her from the car and drive home to retrieve them, because one of the keys goes to the hitch lock.   After a few moments of sheer panic, I remembered I had stashed an extra set of keys where I could get to them, and we were back in business.    We had to stop and take a lunch break at the next rest stop so I could calm down (and I'm not one who easily panics!).

The second incident occurred on the way home.   There was an obvious caravan of trucks with utility trailers and cars (about 7-8 vehicles total) that passed us on the freeway.   Then we saw them all stopped on the side of the freeway.    We stopped at a rest area for lunch and they pulled in to the rest area.   We left and shortly they all passed us again on the freeway.   Did I mention that I really don't like cars that travel close together in caravans like this.    There was a semi-truck in front of me on the freeway with lots of space between us.   The semi all of a sudden did a big swerve..... and my immediate thought was either the driver fell asleep, or there was something in the road in front of him he was trying to avoid.    Sure enough, one of the caravan truck/trailers had lost a full size mattress in the middle of my lane.    I was able to slow down and drive off on the shoulder to avoid it, but it was a pretty scary moment.    I don't know what happened behind me on the freeway but I am guessing there was a bit of a traffic tie-up for a while.   And of course, all 7-8 vehicles were stopped along the freeway where this was all happening.

Happily it all ended well, and we had a wonderful time.    It felt so good to get out in the granite and pines, and log a lot of hiking miles with good friends.    Thanks Diane and Lanita!

Out of Hibernation!

Well, after what seems like a very very long winter, Waddles came out of hibernation this past weekend.

I try to attend the annual Ladd Marsh Bird Festival each year.  It gives me an excuse to go back to La Grande, Oregon, where I used to live, to visit friends and the amazing marsh with its bird life. 

As usual, when I looked back at Waddles, parked in the RV park, she looks a bit overwhelmed.   

Small but Brave

We settled right in, and it was a lovely spot first thing in the morning.

I had dinner with friends the first night and got up VERY VERY early on Saturday morning to get on to the Marsh.   Took a long walk into an area that is only open to the public during the festival to experience the 'dawn chorus' of birds coming to life.   I could hear lots of Marsh Wrens and Common Yellowthroats but saw only a few of them.   Lots of ducks, geese, red-winged blackbirds, swallows, hawks  and sandhill cranes.    

I didn't take a lot of photos that morning, so I could just immerse myself in the chorus.

I spent the rest of the morning at one of the festival stations, staffed by friends.    It was fun to visit with the parade of people I know and haven't seen for a long time, and to watch the water birds on the pond at this station.   Avocets, Stilts, phalaropes, and lots more.

That afternoon, and Sunday morning I wandered around the marsh some more and found more birds and took pictures.   No matter how many Owls I see, they always make me smile.

Baby Great-Horned Owl staring at me

Mama Great-Horned Owl staring at me

Lots of Canada Goose babies and if you look close in the back right, you will see napping Elk

Tree Swallow, trespassing

Western Kingbird

Male Northern Harrier "Grey Ghost"

This marsh is one of my favorite places in the world.  I can spend hours and hours wandering around on the trails.   The festival was a scaled down version this year, but was still lovely.

We are back home now, unpacking and cleaning up.    I am all vaccinated up so hope to do more traveling soon.

 

When I opened the blog to write this post I got a notice that said the email notification systems was going away.   I interpret that to mean that those of you who clicked the button to get an email notification when the blog is updated, won't get that any more.    I will try to figure out if there is a new alternative to that, and let you know.

How is your summer starting out?  Got any fun trips planned?

Fog and the Coast

 We managed to squeeze in another trip with Waddles and the Big Red Van.   This time to the southern Oregon coast.   The intent of this trip was to investigate whether this was an option for the winter months as my brother normally heads to a warmer climate in winter.

We packed up Waddles and the Van and headed out.   First stop was my normal 'check to make sure everything is secure and good' at the White River parking lot.  You've seen Waddles in this setting before.

Then the long drive south.    We had reservations at a campground just south of Bandon, at Boice Cope Park, which is a county park on Flores Lake.   This is a place where windsurfers play.     It is small, near the water, electrical hook ups, water and showers.    Not a lot of privacy as it is mostly a big open lawn area, but nice.     The first night it was quite windy and the side tent was a bit tenuous! 

We staked it down as well as we could and put heavy stuff inside and hoped for the best.   It was damp and chilly, typical coastal weather.  This sign, at the park, was pretty interesting!

The next day we drove south down Hwy 101, and off on a lot of side roads exploring the area.   Gold beach is a lovely little town, Sixes is barely a town, but the bingo building looks like a going concern.   There is an interesting monument at Sixes describing the gold found in the sands in the area.

We continued down the coast to Port Orford and Brookings.    We were looking at For Sale property, just to see what was there.   We found a wide range of options; bare land, houses that needed work, mansions, and our favorite was the one my brother dubbed the 'Witches House'   The road in was STEEP downhill.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, but the main house was an A-frame design, sitting on a carved out flat spot.  From the deck you would look DOWN and see the roof of a log structure.   Wandering down to that structure revealed that is was an OLD small log house with a roof overhanging a porch.   It looked cool, and SCARY at the same time, thus the name.    The take-away from all our exploring was that this area is almost all VERTICAL!   I kind of knew that, but wandering around on back roads, and to out of the way properties, really drove that home.

We did discover some very lovely places, including Cedar Valley Road.  We came in from the south and it was not terribly impressive  Then we came in from the north and it was lovely.  Open valley, protected from the coastal weather somewhat.   Lots of potential there.  Not sure what kind of tree/shrub this is, but it had amazing fruit/nut/seed pods on it.

The next day we headed inland from near where we were camping.   It was a very foggy morning and the dew on cobwebs in the grass was amazing.  Unfortunately we couldn't find a good place to pull off the road to take a picture.    We did stop when we saw this cool tree, and curious cows.    I wanted to get a photo of the cow with the tree, but of course when I walked out to take the photo, the cow moved out of the picture.   

The wind subsided after the first night, but there was lots of fog, some smoke, and a bit of rain, so it was cool and damp. This, however, made for some great sunsets.

We planned to spend 4 nights, but after 3 decided that we wanted to do some exploring on the way home, so opted to take 2 days instead of 1 for that drive.  We headed inland just north of Gold Beach along the north side of the Rogue River.   The town of Agnes is along that route, and the map showed the road going through to Merlin and Grants Pass.  It did indicate that this road is closed in the winter.   

When you get almost to Agnes(which is a loop off the road), there is a sign that says, 'One Lane Road, next 35 miles'.    We decided to go for it.    Good thing my brother has a CB radio and knows how to use it.     The mile markers were painted on the road and we started to hear others checking in with their direction (east or west) and what mile marker they were at.    We first encountered a group of vans, who were obviously shuttling boats and people who were running the Rogue River.    Then we encountered a full log truck.   He gave us plenty of warning so we were able to find a wide spot and pull over to let him by.    The road was mostly paved, with a few sections that were pretty bumpy.    I imagine the views would be spectacular but there was a LOT of smoke in the air so we couldn't see much.  We climbed from sea level to over 5000' on this road.    It was a bit of an adventure!

That night we pulled in to Joseph H Stewart State Park, between Gold Hill and Prospect on Hwy 62.   This park is HUGE, with over 200 sites.   It has lots of trees, electricity, water, showers, a big lake/reservoir.   The wild ride of the day resulted in a bit of a tossed salad in Waddles, even though I had secured things pretty well.  A can of soda exploded in the refrigerator and a hard boiled egg was smashed to bits.   A screw came loose from one of the door locks also.  It could have been worse

The next day we drove through Crater Lake National Park.   It was again very smoky; we could barely see the island in the lake.     

The whole trip was lovely, and the weather at the Southern Oregon Coast was cold and damp, so may not be a viable option for the winter, but the jury is still out.

Can I squeeze in one more outing before winter hits?   It is pouring rain and getting colder here at home.   We will see!    Are you ready for winter?

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.

 A little upgrade!

Waddles and I have been laying low, waiting out the fires and smoke!   We are a safe distance from any wildfires fortunately, but the smoke enveloped us for days.   But NOW it seems to have cleared out.  I spent a fair amount of time in fire camps during my career with the USDA Forest Service, so breathing smoke is a familiar sensation, but I have to say, it is certainly nice to see the sun, and breath fresh air.   My heart goes out to those who are so much more severely impacted by these fires.

During this break, I broke down and ordered Wing Walls.  I've been reading about these on the T@G facebook forum (T@G you're it), and they get great reviews.   Each pair is made to order, and there are many  choices of colors and patterns.    I first ordered yellow, and then decided that might not be exactly the right color so changed it to grey.   Meme, the lovely maker of these things, gave me a call wondering what had made me change my mind.   I told her why and she suggested I get the Sunflower color, as it would surely match Waddles.   I am so glad I did.   I kind of LOVE them, and can't wait to try them out in the real world.

The purpose of these little gems is to create a bit of a wind break and some privacy when using the kitchen.   If the wind is blowing, using the propane burners can be a bit challenging.   This will help!

They are ingenious   They are attached with velcro which is installed on the trailer.  I was a bit skeptical about how well the velcro would hold up, since these must be removed each time you close the hatch.  I have to say, while I was installing that velcro, it was the STRONGEST adhesive I have ever experience with velcro.  If it stuck to my finger, it was pretty darn hard to get off.   I'm pretty sure it is not going anywhere.   I have also never heard a complaint from someone who has used them for a while.

On the website there is a video about how to install and use them.  They also come with VERY clear instructions on how to apply the velcro to get the best fit.

I'm impressed, and excited to try them out.   Hoping for at least one more outing before winter hits, though it sure feels like fall outside already.   

How are YOU holding up.   Weird year for certain.