Nature – Page 37

February 24, 2019December 16, 2019

A week for weather

It’s been one of those weeks. By that I mean, we have had weather patterns that make it difficult to get out and do much more than just a daily walk.

Snow and rain, alternating with cold snaps, mean roads are difficult to navigate or should I say, passable only if you need to be somewhere. So why bother.

However, we can’t just sit, read, and do the crossword. Well, we can…but for a change we drive north 15 minutes to Sunriver. At the height of the season, Sunriver’s network of trails is clogged with families on bikes, making walking with Tip problematic.

Once late fall comes, Sunriver presents a nearly ideal walking location, with it’s paved walk ways (except immediately after a snowfall) which are plowed and mostly free of ice.

There are 40 miles of paths in the resort, and while most of that is around and through housing units, apartments, and condos, there is a great loop of trails branching out from the Nature Center. A nearly 4 mile loop takes you across marsh land and fields, eventually dropping down to the Deschutes River.

We also have been spending time watching the water fowl that winter over on the pond beside the Nature Center. A Trumpeter Swan, Canada geese and a heron are regulars here. So on weeks like this one, we do our walking in the relative comfort of paved paths.

February 17, 2019December 16, 2019

Summer Lake on a winter’s day

In 1843, John Freemont discovered a valley with an alkali lake. On a December day, Freemont’s survey team clammered down a snow-covered cliff they would name Winter Ridge, into a temperate green valley.

Fed by a small spring, Summer Lake has been as long as 15 miles and 5 miles wide. However, demands from irrigators and dry Oregon winters have left a much smaller lake and large stretches of muddy shoreline.

Like the Klamath basin 80 miles west, Summer Lake valley is home to a wide variety of migratory birds. This was one of the reasons we drove down Highway 31 past Fort Rock, Silver Lake, Summer Lake and finally to Paisley, Oregon. That day there wasn’t an abundance of birds but we were treated to awesome views of the valley. It was a gorgeous day, kind of summer-like.

February 14, 2019January 5, 2020

Shoveling

Winter in Central Oregon requires you to shovel. The average snowfall in our area is two feet. Although, we got a fraction of that in 2017, the year before saw a roof-bowing four feet of the white stuff.

The previous owners of our house left us a snow shovel, which was nice of them, as it has come in handy.

So far this year, we’ve had a half dozen winter storms. One dropped nearly six inches in one day. Currently, there is about four inches on the ground, and this morning we had a couple of new inches added. The forecast fluctuates between rain/snow mix up to a foot of accumulation. It’s been a strange week for weather forecasters in Oregon.

Predictions for this week’s weather… looks like I’ll be using the snow shovel. It’s not as bad as I remember from the Montana winters of my youth.

That said, it is the most shoveling I’ve done in many years. All in all, we are enjoying the snowy winter weather of Central Oregon.

February 10, 2019January 5, 2020

Chimney Rock

Usually when we are on the Crooked River, we’re on the other side of the road, rod in tow and knee deep in the stream. However, today it was a scramble up one of the many dry gullies to the east for a look out over the Crooked River canyon south of Prineville.

Chimney Rock is a distant cousin to the more famous Crooked River basalt formation Smith Rock.

But here again, we are talking about a much lower attendance on trail and of course much less technical hiking.

There is a short climb up the side of the river canyon to a juniper and sage ridge. The trail then meanders along crossing and re-crossing a dry creek bed. Ancient juniper trees are literally poking out of rock outcroppings. The surrounding canyon walls are home to a conspiracy of vocal ravens.

The day offered an interesting prospective on a stream we often camp along, and provided a delightful hike on a sunny winter afternoon.

January 30, 2019December 16, 2019

Roadside geology

It’s a bit of an understatement to say Central Oregon has a unique geological history. Nearly every hillside and canyon in the region tells a story, exposing a variety of volcanic eras. According to “Roadside Geology of Oregon,” we live on the volcanic plateau. Walking ancient lava flows is so cool!

Northwest of Bend, a man-made lake occupies a space made up of igneous rock, once cut into by three rivers. This is where the Metolius and Crooked join the Deschutes river. The waters of Billy Chinook draw hundreds of power boaters from May to November, however in the winter months, the canyon walls are quieter and we can indulge our geological interests in relative peace.

Mountain View Drive, a few miles off Highway 97 and northwest of Culver is a good starting point. From it’s many overlook pullouts, you get a “whole picture view” of the plateau and canyon walls.

Next it’s down to the floor and the Crooked River Day Use area. The deserted boat ramp is a nice place to stop for some lunch by the lake. The sun has made it to this level by noon and is warming huge boulders that serve as picnic site buffers.

Drive up the Crooked river branch and you are able to see textbook examples of columnar basalt that lava flows laid down millennia ago. Cross over the lake and stop to see one of the more recent rock formations in the area, a Petroglyph Rock.

We are now on the Metolius River branch and climb out of one canyon, across a flat, and drop into Fly Creek, where at USFS road 1170, the pavement ends. A short distance farther and you pull into a turnout on the right. Down the gravel path is the Balanced Rocks, another geological oddity with Lake Billy Chinook and the snow covered peak of Mt Jefferson in the background.