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Showing posts with the label Oregon

Photo Friday: Dayhiking the Wallowa Mountains

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Since some of you may be wondering where the Wallowas are: they are a small range in the far NE corner of Oregon, in part at least renowned for having a bit of a feel of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains--without so much altitude! Back in September I did a road trip with my brother- and sister-in-law, beginning with several days around the Wallowa Mountains and three scenic dayhikes, mostly within the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Hike #1 was a 7 1/2-mile round trip to Bonney Lake. The road to the trailhead was a little rough, but passable with my Prius. YMMV. After a short stretch of pleasant valley bottom and a stream crossing, a big chunk of the middle of the hike to the lake was through an area that had burned in a fire within the last year or two--very fresh still. Nothing like finding your trail signs well-blackened. We eventually climbed above the burn and into the sub-alpine meadows. This part felt more like the Rockies than the Sierra. Pretty sure that was volcanic, though, so

Photo Friday: Oregon Coast

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Last month I enjoyed a girls' weekend on the Oregon coast before heading to the Grand Canyon (and yes, I had to pack for 4 seasons. I experienced them all in 3 weeks). We had scenic weather--rain showers and sun, wind and waves. Here are a few of the scenic highlights. We stayed two nights at the adorable and literary-themed Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, OR. Every room is named for and decorated in keeping with a writer. Our group used the Ken Kesey room--think bunkroom at the asylum only with comfy beds--and Oscar Wilde. The hotel is named for Sylvia Beach, who opened the Shakespeare & Co bookstore in Paris in 1919. The hotel sits on a bluff overlooking the beach. The view from breakfast. Unfortunately, they weren't serving dinner while we were there. It was too cold, wet, and windy for us to sit out, but I'll bet it's wonderful in summer! We enjoyed the usual things--great meals out, walks on the beach, and a massage. Rain just made new magic. My artist friend P

Flashback Friday & Eclipse Report

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First the eclipse. As regular readers of this blog will recall, I drove to Oregon last weekend with my oldest son in order to witness the total solar eclipse. I have to say that it was a fantastic experience, and worth the cost of a rental car (because ours chose just that moment to develop a perplexing electrical problem) and 3 days of driving. At least we avoided the massive traffic jams that made some people's trips home 2 or 3 times longer than they should have been. Okay, I'm lying. That's not an eclipse. That's sunset in California, thanks to the fires everywhere. And the reality was even redder than the photo shows. We targeted the National Forest lands east of John Day, Oregon, in hopes of avoiding the worst crowds. Our plan worked pretty well. That is to say, the small towns along the path of totality were absolute zoos, but we needed nothing there--we'd filled the gas tank farther out, and had all our own food and water with us. The National Forest was al

Eclipse!

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The Ninja Librarian is in Oregon, watching the eclipse. As a treat while you wait for our return, a few photos of the Eastern Oregon landscape, from earlier trips. I tend to think of eastern Oregon as fairly flat--a rolling lava field much like eastern Washington (which is also not really that way--that's just what you see from I90). And it can be. Oregon looking prairie-like aside from the volcanic artifact that is Fort Rock. But an awful lot of it is more like this. Still volcanic, but not so flat. US 395 near John Day, Oregon.  Oregon can also look like this: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Painted Hills Interesting contrasts between the eroding hills, the volcanic butte behind, and the irrigated valley between! We'll be looking for places more like what's behind the Painted Hills, for the best view of the eclipse! And finally, Eastern Oregon can also look like this. See you in a few days! ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2017 As always, please ask permission to use any pho