Our week started out sunny, with last week’s snow finally melting away. However, while writing this post, I watch a light snow fall outside my window.
This is a cycle that will repeat itself many times in the coming months.
We plan our travels between the snow events. Roads are cleared quickly and our car is equipped for winter travel, so this is more for our convenience than anything else.
It had been a while since we’d been to Fort Rock, so that was at the top of our list. The trip is short, half an hour’s drive, and while not a major thoroughfare, Highway 31 gets good winter service.
The trip through pine forests onto a sage steppe presents a unique transition. Fort Rock is one of 40 tuff rings located in the Christmas Valley.
A hundred thousand years ago it was nearly submerged in an ice age lake.
A mere 12,000 years ago, some poor soul left his shoes in a nearby cave.
The geology and archeology of the Great Basin are one more reason to explore this section of Oregon.