Visitors

 Here are some videos of recent animal visitors to our yard.

Bobcat

Bear

Nutria

Lorie and Brian's View

 Recently, we had an afternoon dog walk with Lorie and Brian and then went to their home on the Yaquina Bay for dinner.  It was one of those rare warmish evenings and we dined on their deck.

Willamette River Paddle

 Saturday, we participated in a nine mile paddle down the Willamette River.  We were joined by our friends Bob and Mary.  The paddle was sponsored by Willamette River Keepers and Oregon State Parks.  They provided canoes, paddles, and life jackets and the event was entirely free.  28 people signed up, many bringing their own vessels.

The weather was perfect!  The two rangers in the canoe are transporting a wheel chair for a man with paraplegia who paddled his own kayak.

Ahoy, Bob and Mary!

We made several stops along the way. Here a ranger talks about this primitive campsite.  They have over 90 campsites along the river, but you can also camp on the gravel bars.  It's kind of like backpacking except you can load up your canoe with a lot more stuff.

Here we are beached on a gravel bar.  The rangers and two River Keeper folks shared a lot of information along the way.  We learned about the native mussels, invasive water plants, "secret" swimming holes in abandoned quarries, and other recreational opportunities.

After the paddle from Corvallis to Albany and about 4 hours on the water, we had a picnic before heading home.

🚣

Trail Cam News

 This is the first time we have had a Gray Fox show up on a trail cam here in Oregon. It came by two nights in a row just before dawn.

This bobcat below is holding what looks like a squirrel in its mouth.

🍁

Road Trip!

 On the 4th, we boarded Daisy and headed east for a 6 day road trip to eastern Oregon.  Our first stop was Bend Oregon where we had reservations for the Hampton Inn right on the Deschutes River.  We expected it to be hot there, and it was. Ninety-three degrees, but just right for floating down the river on our tubes.  We floated for almost an hour before going down the rapids of the fish ladder.

As you can see, this is a very popular activity on a hot day in bend.  Photo from internet.

After the float, we walked along the river trail to find a dinner spot in Old Town.

We passed through the Old Mill shopping area where I took a little rest.  I have been shrinking in my old age.

We walked along the river where we had floated earlier.

After dinner, at 8:04 PM, there were still folks floating under the moonlight.

That's the full moon over the stacks of the old lumber mill.

The next day we headed east and drove through the remote Ochoco National Forest where several lightning fires were burning, some right next to the road.  We saw a converted airliner drop a load of orange retardant not too far in front of us.  It was a little spooky with all the smoke.

We finally made it to our destination of Joseph after about 7 hours of driving.  Joseph has many bronze sculptures around town that are made locally.  You can see how smoky it was on this day.  We stayed 3 nights in Joseph.  Joseph is at the base of the Wallowa Mountains and close to Wallowa Lake.  The entire Wallowa Mountain Range is a wilderness area and popular with backpackers.

The next day, we took a long hike going up into the mountains.

It was still smoky, but the scenery was rewarding.

Eagle-eyed Gail spotted this pika in boulders of a rock slide.

Wallowa Lake was naturally formed by glaciers up to 1,500 ft. thick pushing rock and earth down the mountain.  This earth appears like a big man-made dam, but is a natural moraine, one of the best remaining examples in the U.S.  The lake is 283 feet deep.

A rain squall came through the second afternoon, and helped clear out the smoke.

Near the lake is the headstone and monument for Old Chief Joseph.

At the far end of the lake is this building built in 1918.  It was a roller rink and dance hall.  It looks like it is past the point of being saved.

The next day we had clear skies.  This is from a little nature trail a short walk from our lodging.

We took the tramway 4,000 feet up to the top of Mt. Howard.  

The trees and vegetation at the top were stunted by the wind and winter storms.  The trees were mostly white bark pines and some lodgepole pines.

Under the bark of this dead pine were the tracks of bark beetles. I see a moose.

Looking to the east over Wallowa Lake.  This is a premier jumping off point for paragliders.   Some have ridden thermals from here crossing Hell's Canyon and landing in Idaho.

A golden-mantled ground squirrel.  

He was not timid after hearing me dig into my lunch bag.  We did not feed him.

It was a little disconcerting.  We could not keep him off us or our packs.  

We rode the tram back down and up again for fun, then had a little happy hour at the small restaurant at the top.  The next day we headed back to Bend via the Columbia River route, spent the night there, and drove home the next morning.  It was great to have a change of scenery and a little adventure.

🚡

Daisy Turns Nine!

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

On September 6, Daisy turned 9.  We had a birthday party for her a few days before that, as we were going to be on the road on the 6th.

Gail got things ready for the big event.

Treats for dogs and humans!

Daisy invited her friends. From left to right: Daisy, Millie, Homie, and Rio.  Unfortunately, Juno was on a road trip.

Our human friends Andrea, Susan, and Josh.

🐕

Farm Tour and More River Crossings

 Earlier this month Gail participated in the annual Yachats River Road farm tour, offering items for sale from her collection.  She not only had fun hanging out under the shade of a big apple tree, but sold a lot of special items.  She chose to sell her things at Forks Farm, about a mile down the road, and shared a table with our friend and neighbor Andrea who was selling her earrings.

After awhile, Gail raised the price on her red bike after realizing she didn't want to sell it that much.

Ranger Gail, ready for business.

Catherine, of Forks Farms, raises flowers commercially. 

More River Crossings

Here are a few more videos of animals crossing the river by our big spruce tree.

Black Bear

Great Blue Heron

Extended family of deer