OHHHHH
Oregon
Time flies in Eastern Oregon – and documentation lags with the spotty cell and WIFI! At least that is my excuse – A little catch up is in order – sorry for the long silence:
Leaving
Nevada, we headed for the Steen Mountains with a mandatory stop at Fields
Station for a milk shake. The shake – the size of a typical coffee can – was
thick and creamy and lasted me a few days.
Thankfully we have a good freezer. Steve managed to make his disappear
as we continued on to our destination – Paige Springs Campground just outside
French Glen. This is a BLM campground with no hook ups but a great price for us
old folks, $10/day. Not only is it a
great deal, it is one of the most beautiful parks we have visited. The sites are well spaced and grassy amongst
cliffs and beside the Blitzen River. It
was necessary to depart Nevada early to ensure an early arrival since this park
is “first come first get”. Luck was with us and the host guided us to a premier
spot along the river where we stayed for 9 nights. This was our base to explore
the area and a nearly perfect spot. Many
thanks to Howard for his expert advice directing us to this campground. Perfect for many folks as every day after our
arrival the campground filled up as we managed to time our stay with the
migratory birds that draw crowds to this area.
The resident long horned owl, Bullocks Orioles and deer just outside our
windows added to the charm ….not to mention the hikes along the river or on the
cliffs above us.
From
Paige springs we made many excursions – one day we drove over to Hart Mountain
the National Antelope Refuge where we didn’t see any antelope although we
glimpsed a few long-horned sheep. We
also spent a few hours hunting for Oregon Sunstones in the BLM land a little
further to the west. Another day we hiked and drove through the Diamond Crater
area and learned about the violent past of this territory. Our visit to the historic Round Barn included
a resident long-horned owl on her nest at the top of this unique structure. We
drove up the Steen loop road to watch the wild horses and hike a little beyond
the closed road. Sadly, the entire loop
will not open until late summer – it winds up to the 9000 foot level so was
still snowed in for our visit in May.
We
did drive the entire lower circuit. Of course, that required another stop in
Fields Station for a refill on the milkshakes. Steve also had to test his new
wheels on the Alvord Desert. Shades of Saudi off-road driving for sure. The
mountain views are dramatically different from the east and west sides.
One
of the highlights of our stay was the bird life in the wetlands and at the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. We saw flocks of white-faced Ibis in a
roadside field, a bald eagle pair on their nest, cedar wax wings feasting in
the trees at P ranch among others. The refuge headquarters was a bird magnet
and well worth several visits. For this
reason, we finally moved a little closer and spent a few days at The Narrows in
an RV park. Hoping for good WIFI, we
were disappointed. In the Paige Springs
park we had reasonable cell service although there were major dead spots as we
traveled about. (The poor service just
fed my procrastination with blog posting!)
After
resupplying in Burns we stopped at Chickahominy Reservoir - a lake that is
drying up in the current drought, so fishing there has no limits. Steve enjoyed the challenge but found the
fish not worth keeping. Catch and release was fun anyway. This desert spot was also a BLM campground
and another kind of bird magnet offering a drink to migrating birds.
From
there we headed to the Bend area where we hung out for several weeks wandering
between Tumalo State Park, to Sisters Creek Campground, up to Prineville
Reservoir and Skull Hollow, back to La Pine State Park, then Diamond Lake and
finally Cove Palisades State Park. We lingered about a month from May 19th
to June 18th . While we enjoyed the variety of campgrounds – and the
lovely Central Oregon State Parks, they – so far – have been devoid of WIFI
service and very skimpy with cell coverage.
(It was not difficult to procrastinate. We had to drive out from our
camp to find a signal just for cell or text – forget web surfing. Such a break
is not all bad.)
Nevertheless,
we kept busy. Good friends, Bill and
Suzy Plank, from our Saudi Aramco days live in Bend and they generously
entertained us, joined us for lunches and hikes and introduced us to their
friends for more hikes as we crisscrossed the area. As a major bonus just
before we finally headed north, we had a six-hour lunch which included their
daughter Lisa and the Slatterys, Keith and Marty, also Aramco friends. A mini
time travel back to the late 1970s and 80s.
Another
highlight was spending a few days camping next to Kathy, Steve’s sister, and
Howard Jones. They kindly traveled from Corvallis to meet us outside
Prineville, OR. We hiked, talked, hiked, talked some more, and even managed a
few thriftstore stops. Steve’s birthday was celebrated a little late with
Kathy’s pie. But, then all the mail they brought us was kind of a
birthday/Christmas as well!
Sister’s
OR is a cute place with one of the best button collections I have ever seen in
the antique store on the main street. Only a few fell into my stash, but it was
impressive and required some serious self-discipline. While antique shop visits
were not much exercise, we did drive up to Suttle Lake for walk one morning. A
hidden gem just off the highway and with campgrounds to be explored on another
trip.
At
La Pine we enjoyed several hikes right at the park since both the Deschutes
River runs through the campground and the Fall River is a short hike away. From
here we also met up with Bill and Suzy’s friends Rick and Jill for a walk along
the Fall River. Jill, a botanist, was a wealth of knowledge about the flowering
plants we saw along the river as she is compiling a book on the subject. The
most original Covid project we have encountered. Now, we are trying to pay more attention to
the flowers around us and not just the birds. Another highpoint of our stay at
La Pine was a visit to the High Desert Museum on the south side of Bend. Four
hours evaporated and if they weren’t locking the doors, we could have stayed
longer. The close up visit to the big
birds – all captive because they were injured – was a highlight. Although we
also enjoyed the beaver display, the early pioneer history and the Indian
artistry exhibited in the beadwork artifacts.
Our
stop at Diamond Lake was to try for a view of Crater Lake – since mid-June is
still early to visit this national park, we were hoping that at least one of
our days there we would be lucky with good weather. Well, after a day of 100% rain the sky
cleared and we headed up to Crater Lake.
The mists were still hanging about as we approached the northern viewpoints
but as we watched they lifted and drifted making this spectacular scene sharpen
and reveal itself. Only the western rim road was open but we toddled along with
a few short hikes down to the Rim Village enjoying the ever-crisper views of
the lake with its vivid blue waters. On this early season visit we were shocked
at the crowds making us wonder if a high season visit would even be enjoyable.
The lake was impressive, the crowds not so much.
Diamond
Lake itself can be circumnavigated on a super paved bike path – a test of my
new 5th gear, but I didn’t have to walk any of it. On another day we
visited several of the nearby waterfalls along the route between the lake and
Roseburg. The short up, up hike to Watson Falls rewarded us with a lush fern
encrusted environment – quite a contrast to the days spent in the dry high
desert of central Oregon.
Cove
Palisades was our last stop before heading north. This is a most dramatic spot
in a canyon where three rivers have been dammed to form Lake Billy Chinook. A
five mile drop on a windy road down, across the Crooked River and back up take
one to the Deschutes campground between two rivers. Most of the campsites
encircle open grassy spaces where families – especially of young children –
play. The campground includes some serious play structures, a laundry, fish
cleaning station and even a basketball hoop, but the big attraction is the lake
and boat launch. The campground has its own boat and boat trailer parking
areas. Before the weekend we thought the day use parking lots were full but saw
what full really was on the weekend!
This is one popular spot, spectacular scenery and resort amenities in a
state park. The park also includes a trail to the top of the escarpment so we
hiked up early one morning to take in the view. (900 feet in just over a mile –
was a good effort for my old knees) We also took a drive to the third river,
the Metolius and a short walk to view the hanging rocks. These curious
structures reminded us of Cappadocia.
On
our last day we took the short path over to the petroglyph that was preserved
when the dam was built. This stone with
its unique artwork was repositioned to protect it from the elements and located
so visitors could easily view it. We kind of appreciated the easy access after
all the more arduous hikes to see such rocks we have made in the last few
months.
Just
to keep things honest, we also spent time doing laundry, shopping for
groceries, refilling propane (Steve’s job) washing the trailer and truck and generally
keeping house and home together. Like the with the boat, there is always
something that needs attending to, so we keep busy if unconnected. Teddy, the
trailer trash cat, also seems to have adjusted well although he is ever more
vocal especially when the sun pokes up so early here in the north. We need to
get him some sleeping eye shades.
aptly named LOOP TRAIL - follows this loopy old road - WA across from our campsite
The next stop was along the Columbia River at a Corp of Engineers Park where the John Day River meets the Big River. It is behind a dam, so the area is really more like a big lake than a couple of rivers. We hit this area just as the record-breaking heat wave arrived. Although we had power and water there was no WIFI and precious little shade, so we headed to higher ground in La Grande, OR. Steve’s mom is currently living in an assisted living home there and two of his aunts also live in the area.
We enjoyed several days with them before
heading further up to Wallowa Lake State Park to meet up with a host of Outdoors
RV owners. The annual rendezvous was
canceled but maybe 35 owners still gathered to enjoy the area and swap tips and
stories. It was also cooler up there during the height of the heat wave so we
stayed an extra day. This gave us time to drive up to Hat Point – a nail biting
cliff hanging road to a dramatic overlook above Hell’s Canyon on the Snake
River. We enjoyed the company of John and Sherry, fellow ORV owners who, lucky
for us, were camped next to us in the park. Given the arid environment, it was amazing
to find the lush flowers and grass up at the Hat Point Park, plus spectacular
views well worth the climb up the old fire lookout tower. The ride up to the summit of Mt. Howard on the tram was less exciting but nearly as scenic. And, the added elevation kept it cool. We rounded out our stay with another walk to a
waterfall and a climb up the glacial moraine that was left when the lake was
formed. We also managed a few trips into the cute town of Joseph to visit their
museum in an old bank building. Visitors there are entertained by the audio
recording of the story of a robbery that occurred at the bank. More interesting
to me was the display of vast variety of brands used by the local cattle
ranchers. “Wallowa Beef can’t be Beat!” was their slogan. Sadly, we didn’t
get a chance to sample the beef produced these days.
From
Wallowa Lake, we finally headed further north into Washington.
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