This week smoke from all those wildfires settled over Central Oregon. The nation’s largest wildfire burns just an hour south of us and a stormfront brought hundreds of lightning strikes and of course, more fires. Nearly all the “hot spots” have been extinguished, but the big blazes in Southern Oregon and Northern California resist efforts to contain them.
Mostly we stay indoors and out of the thick air. One day, when the air quality got a bit better we did the Cascade Highway loop. This takes us right by a favorite spot on the upper Deschutes.
Tip got to do some swimming and we had a brief picnic lunch before the smoke settled back down on us. The weatherman suggests air quality might get better next week. But we have to keep in mind that August is peak wildfire season so we’re not holding out much hope. Glad we managed a few moments on the river.
The ODFW has placed restrictions on Oregon’s large rivers as water temperatures rise from the heat wave.
Tip loves this spot to wade the stream and play fetch. Once started it’s pretty hard to get his focus off the game. We’re glad to set our chairs on the shady bank and take in it’s natural AC.
December’s snow melted away between Christmas and the first part of January. We took the opportunity to do some exploring along the upper Deschutes River. It’s closed to fishing this time of year, meaning far fewer people and with only a hint of snow on the roads you can get nearly to Wickiup Reservoir via USFS roads.
