General – Page 2

March 5, 2023March 5, 2023

Winter Road Trips

Winter in Central Oregon took a vacation this week. In its place we got a false spring. Understanding this would be short lived, we headed north to Maupin and renewed the quest for a BWO hatch.

Weather is only an issue if you’re not prepared. 35 years ago we exchanged winters of snow and ice for ones with gray skies and rain. A move that required a shift from down to gore-tex . . . Malones and Sorels got changed out for Carhartt and Bogs.

Then came retirement and a move back into winter with snow as a season.

Once again we’re shoveling driveways, layering up and parking sorrels by the door. There is also a lot more sunshine and when you can choose the days you drive . . . winter weather is much less of an issue.

The Lower Deschutes shed it’s morning frost as the sun reached the canyon floor. It was a good day on the river. We hooked some fish, though there was no mayfly hatch this day.

Winter is a great time to see Common Goldeneyes

There was a raft of ducks riding the current and a Great Blue Heron stoically perched on a bare tree top.

Not suggesting weather isn’t a focus, it is, but it is only part of the planning. This year’s winter has presented us with more than the usual obstacles to trip scheduling. One day there’s snow bringing treacherous roads, but then a couple days later temps peak in the 40’s and the roads are bare.

A calm spot along the river’s edge, framed by birch tree catkins

We’re back in tune with snowy weather and enjoying the season.

The secret is to take advantage of these good travel days and venture out … we will.

December 24, 2022December 23, 2022

Year’s End

Halloween candy wasn’t even gone from the pantry and our social media feeds began to fill with gift suggestions tucked among the posts. It’s difficult to be in a holiday spirit when you’ve been bombarded with ads for two months. Amplifying the sales spiels is a din of corporate media messages passing off their price gouging as a recession.

With a lingering pandemic, threats to global peace and what appears to be half of the country ready to embrace a fascist coup, it’s not been a great year. Yeah . . . it’s hard to find any spirit of the season in our hearts.

But then we took a look back at the forty-plus entries on this blog and realized there were plenty of bright spots.

Fort Rock in the distance A year of laughing, living, and most importantly, having fun

In spite of the chaos that surrounds us, we’ve managed to get out in the woods, tramp across the high desert and stand in a stream or two.

Basically . . . enjoy the moment … we hope you have done the same.

There won’t be any blog entries for the next few weeks, but look for a new post toward the end of January. For now, take a moment and reflect on this year’s high points . . .

We wish all our readers Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year!

. . . more roads to travel, trails to explore, more adventures to come

December 11, 2022December 9, 2022

Winter at Summer Lake

Trails and dikes wind through the Summer Lake marshlands

Foul weather is the reason most stated for not going outside … saw it on FaceBook, I think. Since moving to Central Oregon we’ve grown very attached to iPhone weather apps. Our weekly sojourns are guided by the trove of information available via this visual piece of software, now bundled with iOS.

Weather permitting, we like to take in at least one winter day at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Waterfowl forage and rest along these channels

Granted, peak birding season is March to May when a majority of the migratory birds are in the flyway. But winter weather doesn’t just affect wildlife, there are seasonal changes to vegetation around this marshy lowland.

Weather on the valley floor is dependent on and very different from Fremont Ridge to the south or Abert Rim to the East.

Snow covers sage and rocky desert terrain

Summer Lake and La Pine are at nearly the same elevation with a couple of ancient lava mounds between them.

Our day starts in a pine forest as Highway 31 scales the southern edge of Paulina’s lava flow. At the Fort Rock junction scenery changes to sage. There is a distinct high desert landscape along the southern edge of Christmas Valley, through Silver Lake.

From there it’s a gradual climb up the western slope of Fremont Ridge. Looking back, west from Picture Rock Pass, you’ll get a better sense of that elevation change.

From the same vantage point looking east, Summer Lake sits in a wide valley butted up to the nearly vertical rockface of Fremont Ridge. The slope along the lake’s southern edge, and in the distance Abert Ridge, present great photo backdrops. Wind has scraped recent snowfall into crevices defining Fremont Ridge as it pushes up from the valley.

Freemont Ridge (right) skirts along this snow swept wetland

In the refuge’s marsh golden shades of reeds and grass jutting out of snow add texture, as well as color.

It’s the middle of duck season and RV’s fill the camp sites but we encounter no one.

It’s a cold, sunny mid-week day and we’re finding lots of landscape photo ops, as well as a handful of raptor sightings. Just a typical winter’s day at Summer Lake.

December 4, 2022November 30, 2022

The Art of Resilience

High Desert seasons can bring extremes. Here in the shadow of the Cascades, we experience frequent weather changes. Within days of a snowfall, our sky can clear to a brilliant blue, ensuring even lower temperatures for the next few days.

We monitor the weather on a daily basis, and more so when heading out on an outing.

So now we find the day is sunny, dry . . . and cold. In this weather interval we visit places that offer relief from the chill. A regular spot on a winter’s day is the Oregon High Desert Museum.

The traveling exhibit that caught our interest, this fall, deals with disaster and homelessness. A day pass, which can be checked out online from the Library, makes it practical to take in a single exhibit.

A desert tortoise, a porcupine and a family of otters usually get our attention. But there are regularly changed exhibit spaces, as well as an art installation in the lobby gallery which are often worth checking out. Online and emailed monthly newsletters alert us to interesting shows.

Floating emergency shelter to use in floods and tsunamis. Pod converts sea water to fresh drinking water.

This Fall they filled a gallery with concepts on Survival Architecture. This traveling exhibit came from a California nonprofit who asked artists and designers to offer solutions to a growing worldwide housing problem.

The fact that homelessness has been trending in the news is only part of it. Making use and re-use of materials was also a major theme.

“Cardborigami” from recycled cardboard is big enough for two people to sleep and can be folded small enough to carry.

As part of the project to make lightweight structures “Cardborigami” designer Tina Hovsepian offers a four step path out of homelessness. Something Oregon’s new Governor might want to visit.

1. Provide participants with immediate shelter and privacy/ownership
2. Provide connections to services and tools to re-integrate people into society
3. Provide permanent housing
4. Help individuals sustain housing through jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

There were lots of interesting design concepts around ocean and water based structures. Another used the biomimetic principles of a spruce cone to design self opening window ports.

Basic concrete frame complete with kitchen, bathroom and roof

Allows family to fill in gaps, redefining economics of social housing

On a more practical note Chilean architect, Alejandro Aravena offers, what I consider a brilliant concept.

“If there isn’t the money to build everyone a good houses why not build everyone half a good house … and let them finish the rest themselves”

Customizing a shelter to personal needs makes these cookie cutter buildings seem more like a home . . . giving value to the housed, as well as the homeless.

The High Desert Museum is always a great spot to spark some discussion around nature, art and environment.

On top of being a warm and inviting, the museum is set on 135 acres of High Desert plateau which you can explore even on a cold December day.

November 27, 2022November 26, 2022

A Quick Hike

Walking along the shore of Lake Aspen at Sunriver

Sunriver Resort is a great walking site, especially in the winter. There are literally miles of walking paths, normally filled at the height of the season . . . not so much in the winter.

For the most part, roads and parking areas are quickly cleared of snow. This means we can get in ‘our steps,’ without the need for snowshoes. With a dog, that is an important detail.

During the winter, we often venture to the Nature Center. From its location on the northern edge of the resort, a lightly used trail runs past the lake, under the road and out along the edge of an airfield. At the west end of the runway lies open fields, often filled with geese. Last year we watched a convocation of Golden Eagles just chillin’.

With no natural barriers, the wind is a constant. There are times the cold cuts through gore-tex and wool. The upside, the open trails allow you to see far enough ahead to spot bicyclists and walkers in time to get the lead back on Tip.

We’ve posted many times about the nature center and the lake it sits next to. The signets are full sized now and make for an impressive family group. The other inhabitant of this body of water, an otter, is much harder to catch a glimpse of . . . though we are always looking.

A beaver, or two, have started a logging operation on the south bank. There is evidence to suggest it takes time to chew down a five inch Lodge Pole. Made a note to explore for their construction site on another visit.