Chalk this up to cabin fever. Tired of walking neighborhood paths, we headed off to a “year around” trailhead. Rim Rock Springs wildlife area is listed as “open all season.” Because it is pretty much out in the open, there was hope the trail would be somewhat snow clear or at least passable. It wasn’t.
The trailhead is a few miles east of Madras on Highway 26 and the real draw for this mile plus loop trail is an abundance of wildlife. Despite being located in basically a barren landscape, there is a marsh and with it lots of birds and critters in the area. For now, we’ll move it to the ‘a bit later’ spring hiking list.
Heck…we’re in the car pointed east why not see if there is some snow cover on the Painted Hills? Forty minutes later we are in the John Day formation and yeah, there was a lot of snow.
The road had been plowed, so we did manage to get to the overlook and of course JQ shot a few frames. We had a picnic lunch. Tip chased a ball and sniffed some sagebrush. The only thing we didn’t get in was some hiking mileage. Just have to double up on the neighborhood loop tomorrow.
Another sunny day road trip success!!!